Transformation gone wacky!
by AllieJenzie
Summary: Lucy saves an injured Laxus from a mysterious masked man... but what happens when Lucy wakes up the next day to find a 8 year old Laxus in her bed? As Laxus's personality slowly changes, can Lucy save Laxus from his fate?
1. The journey begins

**Okay everyone, I know I am writing several stories at this moment, and none of them are finished, BUT no matter how hard I tried, I could not get this idea out of my head. I hope you all enjoy! This story takes place before Juvia and Gajeel join, **

Lucy Heartfillia grinned happily into the bright blue sky above. Life seemed so perfect. She had joined her dream guild, Fairy Tail, made some new friends, and she has been getting stronger every day. True she wasn't anywhere nearly as strong as Gray, Natsu, or Erza, but being the strongest never truly mattered to her, she just wanted to be strong enough to protect those who she cared about.

As Lucy dragger her suitcase behind her, she smiled down at the small money pouch she had connected to her belt, which held the money from her recent solo job. She now had enough to pay her rent!

Sadly, the train had broken down in the town she was in, so she had to walk back to Magnolia. Though it wasn't to bad, it was only a town over and would take only an hour or 2 to walk back. So Lucy took that as her chance to take in the silence and fresh air.

Or… at least the fresh air.

Lucy jumped in surprise at the sound of a large explosion not to far away. Smoke began to fly above the trees and into the sky.  
>"What was that?" Lucy muttered softly, staring at the dark cloud of smoke. "I hope no one got hurt from that!" Lucy gasped, running forward to inspect the scene.<p>

Lucy ran past several trees, desperately trying to reach where the smoke was coming from. "Hello?" Lucy called as she ran into a small clearing. As Lucy looked around she spotted the source of the smoke.

It was near log cabin just ahead, which was now ablaze with flames. "If only Gray was here." Lucy said softly as she dropped her suitcase to the ground and ran forward. "Hello! Anyone here!" Lucy yelled, stopping in front of the house.

How did this fire start? "Hello-"

Lucy gasped at the sound of laughter. "Silly Fairy Tail mage. You speak of strength, but you do not know the true meaning of the word."

Lucy dove behind a barrel in a panic. Wait… strength?

Lucy looked over the barrel to see 2 figures within the smoke. One stood tall, his arms cross, laughing mockingly. While the other laid on the ground, breathing heavily, as if in pain.

"What's going on here?" Lucy thought, confused.

"Now, for your rash actions towards others, I punish thee. Hopefully this will help you learn your lesson." As the smoke cleared Lucy could see the figures.

One wore a dark trench coat, with a mask covering their face. Lucy could only watch, confused, as the stranger lifted up their hand and pointed their finger at the other.

The one of the ground was motionless, unable to even cry out for help.

Their blonde hair stuck to their blood and sweat covered face, theirs eyes dark with pain and anger. Their cloths were ripped to shreds and several wounds covered their body.

"Wait… is that-" Lucy's eyes widened. Was that Laxus on the ground!

Laxus Dreyar? The strongest mage in Fairy Tail… was on the ground, about to be defeated.

Who is that masked men? How could he have possible defeat Laxus.

Lucy snapped out of her thought as a strange glowing beam shot out from the masked man's finger, and impacted against Laxus's chest.

Laxus's pain filled cry filled the clearing.

Lucy had to help him! "STOP!" Lucy yelled, running out from behind the barrel to pull out her keys. "Don't you dare touch him!" Lucy sprinted forward, stepping in front of Laxus to stop the attack.

The beam instantly disappeared and the masked man stared at Lucy, as if in shock. "A girl?"

Lucy held up her keys. "Who are you? What do you intend to do to Laxus!" she demanded.

The masked man took a step back to examine Lucy more closely. "I see, you're from the same guild as Laxus Dreyar." The man chuckled. "This is perfect, I sense great light and power from you. You shall fit perfectly."

"What?" Lucy asked, confused. "What do you mean by that."

'I leave Laxus and his fate to you, Lucy Heartfillia!" The man lifted up his hand, as if to wave good bye.

"Wait! Who are you! How do you know my name!" Lucy demanded! It was too late though, the man had all ready disappeared into the smoke.

Lucy stood in shock, not quite processing what had just happened. Laxus's fate? What was that about?

Laxus!

Lucy whirled around and ran to the older mage, gently picked up his head. "Laxus! Hey! Are you okay?" she asked.

Laxus slowly opened his eyes to stare up at Lucy weakly. "…You're…"

"Lucy Heartfillia." Lucy smiled softly down at him. "Come on, we have to get you some help!" Lucy gasped, trying to lift Laxus up. "I can't do that alone though." Lucy said quickly, realizing Laxus was much to heavy for her. "I open, gate of the golden bull, Taurus!" Lucy yelled, turning the key.

A small bell could be here, and the large bull man appeared.

"I shall protect you and your perfect body Lucy!" Taurus instantly yelled as he landed in front of her.  
>"Yeah, that's great." Lucy deadpanned. "I need your help Taurus, Laxus is hurt. Can you help me carry him?"<p>

"Yes of course!" Taurus grinned. "I shall protect your body from any type of stress!" Taurus yelled, lifting Laxus's body up. Taurus paused to stare down at him. "He is very hurt." He muttered softly.  
>"Yes, we have to hurry. I think there should be a town near by." Lucy eyes grew wide with worry at Laxus's beat up shape. Who was that guy? Why would he wish to attack Laxus like that?<p>

Laxus's head leaned against Taurus's shoulder, his eyes closed and his breathing heavy with exhaustion.

"Let's go!" Lucy said, and Taurus nodded.

As the two ran through the forest, heading towards Magnolia as fast as they could, Lucy couldn't help but wonder what Laxus was doing out here. Maybe that log house was his home, or he was on a mission.

She would have to ask him later.

"There!" Taurus yelled, pointing to the entrance of Magnolia. Lucy smiled as they entered the town. Hopefully they would make it to get Laxus some help.

As Lucy and Taurus sprinted through the streets of Magnolia, several citizens stopped to stare at them in wonder.

"Was that Lucy Heartfillia?" A women asked as they passed.

"And what is that thing next to her?"  
>"A bull maybe." Another shrugged.<p>

"Is that Laxus Dreyar it's carrying? He looks pretty bad!"

"Someone should go get the master! He will want to know!"

Lucy had to ignore the citizens gossip and chats, she had to focus on Laxus. "Quick, in here." Lucy said, opening the door to the Magnolia hospital. Taurus squeezed through the door, shocking several of the nurses who was standing inside.  
>"Excuse me! This man needs help!" Lucy yelled towards the doctors, who quickly jumped into action, playing Laxus on a bed to examine him.<p>

As the doctors and nurses rolled Laxus away, Lucy fell silent.  
>"Lucy." Taurus said softly.<p>

"Oh, sorry Taurus. Thank you for the help." Lucy smiled weakly up at him.  
>"Any time." The bull nodded.<p>

"May I ask you one last favor?" Lucy asked.

Taurus blinked and nodded.

"Can you go to Fairy Tail and get the master, Laxus is his grand son and will want to know."

Taurus nodded, saluting slightly. "Of course! I will protect your amazing bodyyyyyyyyy!' Taurus yelled, running out the door.  
>"I don't know what that has to do with getting the master, but okay." Lucy sighed with a shrug. Lucy turned back to the nurses, not wanting to leave Laxus's side.<br>"Will he be all right?" she asked one of the passing nurses.

"It's too early to tell.' She said quickly before running off. Lucy looked down with a sigh. She would have to wait.

-Fairy Tail-

"Ha! Take that Gray!" Natsu laughed as he punched the ice mage across the room.

"Why you-" Gray hissed angrily.

"Honestly, can't you two stop fighting for at least 5 minutes?" Levi sighed at the two.

"Never!" they yelled, charging at each other again. Levy rolled her eyes at the two.

"Hey Mira, when will Lucy be coming back?" Happy asked.

"She should be returning today." Mirajane smiled, handing Happy his plate of fish.

"Aye!" Happy cheered, diving on top of the fish and sinking his teeth into the first one.

Levy chuckled at Happy but turned around at the sound of running

'Where is the master!" a voice bellowed.

Fairy Tail's eyes widened as a large bull came marching towards them.

"W-What the-" Alzack blinked, almost falling out of his chair.

"Taurus?" Erza questioned, stepping forward. "What are you doing here? Where is Lucy?"

"Lucy and her magnificent body is fine! But I need the master, it is of grave importance!" Taurus said quickly.  
>"Lucy's celestial spirit?" Gray questioned, pausing from his battle with Natsu.<p>

"I am the master." Master Makarov said, stepping forward.

"Ah, it is you!" Taurus smiled, but instantly smiled. "You are the grandfather of Laxus Dreyar, correct?"

Makarov blinked. "Yes." He said slowly.

"Your grandson is in the hospital! My master and her lovely body found him on her way back to town, she asked me to come and get you! Laxus is very badly injured." Taurus said quickly.

Everyone's eyes widened. Laxus… was hurt and in the hospital?

Makarov seemed most at shock. His fatherly/grandfather worry came into his eyes. "Laxus." He said softly, running passed the bull celestial spirit and towards the hospital.

The rest of Fairy Tail followed quickly behind. Even if Laxus was a jerk to most of them… he was still a member of Fairy Tail and their Nakama!

**Here we go, all done. Sorry if this seemed a bit rushed, hope you liked it!**


	2. My name is Laxus Dreyar

**New chapter! Please enjoy!**

Makarov stood in silence, staring down at his grandson in worry. "Laxus." He said softly, brushing a few strands of blonde hair away from the younger mages face.

"He should be all right in a couple of hours." The doctor announced. He turned towards Lucy and smiled. "You're lucky you got him here when you did.'

Lucy nodded slowly, staring at Laxus in worry.

"I'll leave you all for a moment. Please don't stay long though, he needs rest." The doctor said, sweat dropping on how all the Fairy Tail members were all squished in that one room. Makarov nodded to the doctor as he left.

"What happened Lucy?" Gray asked as soon as the doctor left. Makarov looked at Lucy, wanting the answer as well.

"I… I'm not sure." Lucy said softly. "I was coming back from my mission, when there was an explosion. I went to go see if anyone was involved or hurt, and when I got there… there was Laxus on the ground, and a man with a mask standing over him."

"A man with a mask?" Erza asked.

Lucy nodded. "He didn't say his name. He hit Laxus with a weird beam of light though!" Lucy said quickly.

Makarov rubbed his chin in thought.

"Unforgivable." Freed hissed under his breath. "We have to find this guy and make him pay!"

"Well all know how you feel Freed, but we don't even know who this guy is. How are we supposed to find him?" Mira said, placing a hand on Freed's shoulder.

Freed gritted his teeth nodding slowly. "I know that."

"We can't do anything for now. I will ask the other guilds and council." Makarov said in a low tone staring at his Grandson intently. "Who ever did this…." Makarov's voice grew dark, his eyes filling with rage. "Will pay."

-Later that night-

"Laxus." Lucy said softly, crawling into her bed. Who was that masked man? What did he want with Laxus? Lucy shook her head in frustration. She should be relieved right? Laxus was going to be okay.

So then why… did she feel like this wasn't the end of it?

The master must be really upset. He had insisted on staying by Laxus's side throughout the night. Hopefully Laxus would get better soon.

Lucy laid her head on top of her pillow and sighed. "I'll bring Laxus some flowers tomorrow." She smiled softly up at her ceiling. Lucy nodded to herself before slowly drifting off into sleep.

-(I think I'm rushing a bit… oh well) The next morning-

"Warm…" Lucy muttered. Natsu must have snuck into her bed again. The idiot, couldn't he tell she was upset and wanted at least one night alone. Lucy opened her eyes, expecting to see the pink haired mage laying next to her, but saw no one. Lucy blinked.

The source of the warmth was coming farther down, around her stomach.

She could feel two small arms wrapped around her waist tightly.

W-Who was it?

Lucy flipped the sheets of in a panic. Her eyes widened.

Holding onto her tightly was a small boy, around the age of 8. He had short blonde hair that covered his face, and a soft smile.

"W-W…Who?" Lucy stuttered, staring at the small child.

The boy seemed to hear her stuttering and shifted his body a bit, snuggling closer to Lucy. "Lu…." He mumbled.

"H-Hey… um…" Lucy shook the small boy in hopes of waking him up. The boy slowly opened his light blue, almost gray eyes and stared up at Lucy confused.  
>"Um… who are you?" Lucy asked slowly, trying to pry the boy's small hands off of her.<p>

The boy smiled. "Lucy!" he giggled, holding on tighter.

Lucy flinched. After much struggle, the boy finally released her.

"Okay, I'm going to ask this again. Who are you?" Lucy stared at the boy intently. His shirt was much to big for him and had several holes and blood stains. (Which worried Lucy). His pants were 4 times to long for him and he constantly tripped over them.

The boy giggled as he stumbled around Lucy's room, yelling. "Food, food, food!"

"F-Food? I don't even know you though-"

"Food!" the boy insisted.

Lucy blinked but sighed. "Honestly, you're like Natsu." She muttered, trudging into the kitchen and grabbing an apple, which the boy quickly ate.

"Now, you're name is?" Lucy asked, sitting the boy down on a chair so she could look at him.

The boy giggled once again. "Laxus!"

Lucy blinked. "Eh?"

"My name is Laxus!"

"…"

"Lucy?" the boy asked, tilting his head.  
>"Hehe… I think I heard you wrong, could you repeat that?" Lucy asked slowly.<p>

"My name is Laxus! Laxus Dreyar!" the boy announced, smiling brightly at Lucy.

"…EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Lucy screamed

**Sorry if it was short of rushed! The next chapter will be better, promise!**


	3. 8 year olds are cute

**New chapter! Hope you all enjoy!**

Lucy paced around the room frantically, constantly pausing to stare at the 8-year-old boy, who was sitting at her table staring at her.

"Okay, Lucy. Just stay calm. There has got to be some sort of wacky explanation to this. Or maybe this was a dream, yeah, a dream. That has to be it." Lucy thought in dismay, running her hand through her hair. She glanced at the so-called "Laxus" with a frown. He smiled brightly at her as he swung his legs around.

Lucy flinched. This had to be a dream. "Okay." Lucy sighed, standing up straight and placing her hands on her hips. She walked over to the small boy and kneeled next to him.

Laxus turned towards her, staring at her with wide innocent eyes.

"Hit me." Lucy ordered.

Laxus tilted his head in confusion. "What?"

"Go ahead, don't be shy. Just give me a good smack on the face." Lucy waved her hand calmly at the shocked boy.

"But-"

"It's okay really. I want you to." Lucy said quickly.

Laxus stared at Lucy for a long time before hesitantly lifting up his small hand. He lifted it towards Lucy's face, giving her a tap on the cheek.

Lucy blinked. "A little harder then that." She chuckled at the boys pout. Laxus tried again, not willing to hurt the older girl.

"Laxus." Lucy laughed. "It's fine, really."

Laxus tried once again, giving Lucy a good slap across the face. Though since Laxus was still a child, the slap was only minor.

Lucy held her cheek in shock. It had hurt… which meant… that this wasn't a dream. Lucy shrugged. At least she knew now.

"Sorry that was probably weird-" Lucy's eyes widened as she looked back down at Laxus, who was now trembling, tears threatening to fall from his large eyes.

"W-What? No, no, no don't cry!" Lucy said quickly, beginning to panic.

"B-But, you're in pain now… b-because of me." Laxus sobbed, using his small fists to try and rub away his tears.

Lucy stared the younger blonde in surprise. This definitely could not be the real Laxus. "Oh, Laxus." Lucy said softly, placing her hand on his head. "It's okay, it didn't hurt, and you actually helped me prove something." Lucy smiled softly down at him.

"R-Really?" Laxus sniffed.

"Yeah." Lucy smiled. "Now Laxus, can I ask you something?" Lucy asked.

Laxus nodded.

Lucy smiled. "Laxus, do you remember anything that has happened in the last couple days?" Lucy asked.

Laxus thought for a moment. "No." he shook is head. "I… um, I remember seeing Grandfather, then um… then I remember seeing Lucy!" Laxus grinned.

"Me?" Lucy questioned.

"Yeah, it was like you were an angel sent to watch over me!" Laxus cheered, wrapping his small arms around Lucy's neck to hug her. Lucy tilted her head in confusion, not completely understanding what Laxus meant.

"I-I'm sorry Laxus, I seemed to had forgotten then this happened, could you tell me?" Lucy asked quickly.

Laxus nodded, pulling away. "See, see, I was on the ground, I don't know why though, and then the next thing, there you were!" Laxus smiled. "You smiled at me and when I tried to ask you who you were you said "Lucy Heartfillia", and then you said "Come on, we need to get you some help" but then everything went dark." Laxus grinned.

"….Um…." Lucy rubbed her chin in thought. Her eyes widened in realization. She had said all of that when she had found Laxus in the forest! So he remembers that, but why doesn't he remember the masked man? Or… does Laxus remember anything at all about his adult life.

"Laxus… how old are you suppose to be?" Lucy asked.

"8." The boy answered.

"…" Lucy sighed. This was bad. He didn't remember anything. It was like he actually thought he had been 8 this whole time. "Okay Laxus, how did you get here? I don't remember going to sleep last night with you in my bed with me."

Laxus stared at Lucy, confusion in his own eyes. "I don't know… I remember I was looking for someone… then I saw you in bed… and I was tired, so I got in bed too. Grandpa always said if you're tired then you should got to bed as soon as you can." Laxus nodded.

_"So you just went into my bed without permission_?" Lucy thought angrily. Lucy nodded slowly. "Okay, fine." She sighed, realizing she probably wasn't going to get much more out of him. Lucy blinked. "Wait a minute… if you're here with me, then that means that you are no longer at the hospital. Which also means… that master is probably worried sick!" Lucy gasped. "We have to get you back to him before he goes on a wild rampage!' Lucy ran to her dresser and grabbed a t-shirt and jeans. "Wait here for a second." She said to Laxus, who nodded, before she ran into the bathroom to change. After she had changed her cloths, she quickly went outside to see Laxus lying on her bed, waiting for her.

She stared at him, realizing all his cloths were still extremely big and covered in dry bloodstains and holes. No exactly the normal look little boys had, but he didn't have any other cloths to wear. She could of course lend him some of her cloths…. Though that might be just as weird.

Lucy shrugged grabbing one of her smallest plain white shirts and some baggy shorts. "Oh well." Lucy sighed. "Laxus, can you change into these?" Laxus sat up to stare at the cloths. "They're a little big, and sorry but they're also, mine…. But uh, it will be a little better fitting then what you are wearing now." Lucy suggested.

Laxus stared at the cloths in awe. "There's yours?" he asked.

Lucy nodded.

"Then I'll wear them!" Laxus grinned.

"Y-You will?" Lucy questioned.

Laxus nodded. "Yeah, because Lucy was nice enough to lend me her cloths."

Lucy blinked and smiled at Laxus. "Thanks Laxus." She said, handing him the cloths so he could go change. Laxus took the cloths into his arms but stared up at Lucy, embarrassed.

"What is it?" Lucy asked.

"Can you help me?" He asked.

"Eh?" Lucy blinked. Laxus kicked his feet nervously, hiss long pant legs swinging around. "I need help." He muttered. How old was he again. 8? She was sure he could change by himself, but now that she thought about it, she had trouble dressing herself correctly when she was 8 too.

Lucy covered her mouth, trying to hold in a giggle. "Of course I'll help Laxus." She smiled, taking the cloths away from the boy and helping him into them. "There." Lucy smiled as she pulled the white shirt over Laxus's head. It was odd, but she had almost forgotten that when she was a child she would also ask for help getting dressed. _Ah memories._

"Okay, shall we go?" Lucy asked?

Laxus nodded. "Oy!" he cheered, pumping his small fist in the air, causing Lucy to chuckle as she opened the door.

-The streets of Magnolia-

Lucy wanted to squeal out into the sky. She had to admit, Laxus was pretty cute. His round eyes, soft spiky hair, and the way he clung to her so much was sweet… but now…. She felt like she would faint from how adorable he was.

During their walk towards the hospital and Fairy Tail, Laxus had grabbed the back of her shirt, afraid of being lost. That puppy dog look he gave her when she looked at him was irresistible!

She wanted to hug that little bundle of joy till there was nothing left! Lucy grinned to herself, glancing back at Laxus who was staring at a large tree as they passed it.

Lucy smiled. Even if this wasn't the real Laxus, and even if it was, for some reason she felt some responsibility for him. Like it was her duty to protect him from whatever may try to harm him.

Lucy looked back forward and stopped, causing Laxus to bump into her.

Lucy's eyes widened at the sight of the master, running out of the hospital in a panic. "LAXUS!" he called, running at full speed towards the guild.

"W-Wait, master!" Lucy yelled, grabbing Laxus's hand and running after the small man.

Laxus ran behind Lucy as fast as he could, constantly tripping over his cloths. After a while Lucy picked up the small boy into her arms, running towards Fairy Tail at full speed.

Once she had reached the entrance she placed Laxus on the ground and opened the two large doors, which were slightly cracked from someone (Master) using great force on them.

"LAXUS IS MISSING~!" Lucy heard the room gasp as she entered.

"We have to find him!" Evergreen yelled.

"Um…"

"Maybe he went to his house!" Freed suggested

"Excuse me…"

"Why would he leave the hospital in his condition. That idiot!" Alzack hissed, folding his arms.

"Like Natsu."

"Shut up Gray!"

"Hey… Um… guys…" Lucy sighed as her failed attempts to get the attention of the screaming guild. "Guys!"

Nothing. Lucy ran her hand through her hair in frustration. "Any suggestions?" Lucy looked down at Laxus, who was smiling brightly at her.

"Well… you could always just scream… you know, as loud as you can." Laxus smiled. "That gets Grandpa's attention a lot."

"I bet." Lucy sweat dropped. "Might as well try it though." Lucy took in a deep breath, opening her mouth. "AHHHHHHHH!"

Natsu seemed to hear Lucy's high-pitched scream and looked over at the blond girl confused. The rest of the guild soon followed.

"Lucy? What are you screaming for?" Natsu demanded.

Lucy sighed. "Finally." She folded her arms at the rest of the guild members. "You guys can all calm down, it's okay Laxus-"

"Is missing!" Gray interjected.

"Didn't you hear Lucy? Laxus is missing, we need to find him!" Erza yelled.

"That's what I'm trying to tell you guys though, Laxus is-"

"You mean you saw him! Where did he go!" Freed demanded.

"Okay 1, I didn't say anything like that." Lucy sweat dropped. "Plus, even if I did, I wouldn't of let him just walk away, I would have taken him back to the hospital, but that's not the point. The point is that Laxus-"

"Where could he have gone then!" Cana yelled, turning back to the guild members.

Lucy flinched. "I am really not getting through to these guys." She sighed. "Laxus isn't missing!" she yelled to the bickering guild members.

"Of course he's missing Lu-Chan." Levy said not even bothering to look back at her. Lucy sighed.

"Really?" she looked down at Laxus who was holding back his giggles.

"Laxus is in this room! He's not gone! He's actually a 8 year old at the moment, a very cute 8 year old may I add." Lucy smiled, ruffling Laxus's hair.

No one noticed Lucy's comment and kept yelling and screaming, preparing to run out the door in search of Laxus… who was right in front of them.

Lucy growled in annoyance. "LAXUS IS WITH ME!" she screamed.

The guild fell silent, slowly turning towards the celestial mage.

"What did you say Lucy?" Mira asked, tilting her head.

"Laxus. Is. With. Me." Lucy sounded out the words slowly, hoping her fellow guild members would understand and start listening to her.

"….What?" Gray questioned, confused.

Lucy sighed, giving Laxus a nudge forward. Laxus grinned at the Fairy Tail guild.

"….Lucy…. That's a little boy." Erza said slowly.

"Laxus is a grown man, you saw him yesterday, remember?" Cana said, staring at Lucy like she had lost her mind.

"I know." Lucy pouted. "This is him. I found him in my bed this morning." Lucy pointed down at the small boy who was swinging side to side.

"…." The guild fell silent, as if trying to comprehend what Lucy was saying to them.

"…pfft! Lucy! This can't be Laxus!" Natsu burst into laughter, Happy soon joining him. "Laxus is, I dunno, 23 or something. This kid is only 8! You have terrible sight if you can't see that!"

Lucy glared at the fire mage. "I didn't believe he was Laxus at first either, but he was wearing the same cloths Laxus was wearing yesterday. The cloths had the same blood marks and holes too!" Lucy announced.

"He also knew the first things I said to Laxus when I found him yesterday."

Natsu and Happy's laughs seemed to die away.

The master slowly stepped forward, looking at Laxus in shock. His eyes were slightly hazy, as if he were looking back at old memories, remembering what Laxus looked like when he was 8 years old. "You look just like Laxus did…. When he was 8." Makarov said softly, looking the boy up and down.

"Master!" Erza gasped. "You can't actually think that this boy is Laxus? It's not possible."

"I'm not sure Erza. I've read a book once about transformations, this could just be some weird transformation of some kind." Levy said slowly, staring at Laxus.

"Or a spell." Macao shrugged.

The master took another step forward, holding his hand out to the boy, slowly touching his face.

Laxus smiled, leaning he head against his grandfathers embrace. Makarov's eyes widened.

"Hi grandpa!" Laxus giggled.

"You're…. really Laxus." He said softly, causing small gasps and whispers without the guild.

The only questions left were…. How did this happen, and how were they going to fix it?


	4. Mother! How about sister?

"So there is nothing you can do?" Master Makarov asked, looking up at Porlyusica.

The older pink haired women shook her head, sighing. "This type of transformation is no normal. I do not know how to reverse it. I do not even know how long it will last. I could last days, months, years even." She announced.

"Laxus wont be very happy about that." Freed sweat dropped.

"I don't think he really minds right now." Mira chuckles, staring at Laxus who was running around in circles, chasing Happy.

"Later he probably won't." Natsu smirked.

"How did he end up in my room?" Lucy asked, looking down at the younger blond mage, who was suddenly clinging to her leg. For reasons she didn't know why.

"You expect me to know that?" Porlyusica said harshly over her shoulder. "There is not much about this transformation, but from what I have read, you should not be separated from that boy."

"Huh?" Lucy gasped. "Why?"

Fairy Tail, including Makarov, looked at Porlyusica in confusion.

"You said before, that Laxus was shot by a strange beam of light by that mysterious masked man, correct?" Porlyusica asked.

"Yes." Lucy nodded.

"YOU, were the first being Laxus saw after that, correct?"

"…Yes…" Lucy said slowly, wondering where Porlyusica was headed with this.

"Think of this transformation like when a baby duckling is born. The first moving thing it see, it thinks is its mother, right?"

"…..' Lucy fell silent. "You don't mean…"

"Laxus thinks of you at this moment, like a mother. Maybe even an older sister if you will. If you two are separated for too long, it may cause serious problems for the boy. The transformation may increase and he will change into another age again, or he could very well be stuck in that age forever."

"…" Fairy Tail fell silent, too shocked by this information to comprehend the situation. Lucy looked pale, as if the whole world was shacking around her. Her? A mother! Sure, maybe a sister could be fine, that she could handle, but the whole mother thing was way too much for her.

She slowly looked down at Laxus, who was pulling on her sleeve. As soon as he saw she was looking at her, he held up her arms, as if wanting her to pick him up.

"Up!" he yelled.

He was 8, right? 8 year olds at least act a little bit more mature then this.

Lucy slowly bent down, scooping the boys into her arms. Laxus smiled, and snuggled closer to her chest, wrapping his arms around her neck, hiding his face in her shoulder.

Lucy looked up to see Fairy Tail staring at.

"What do I do?" she mouthed, beginning to panic.

Fairy Tail shrugged, not sure what to tell the young celestial mage.

Master Makarov cleared his throat. "Well… this is a very interesting situation, but I suppose there is nothing we can do at this moment. Lucy, I must ask that you watch over my grandson till this whole thing is sorted out. Can you do that?" Makarov stared at Lucy, pleading at her with his eyes.

Lucy flinched at his stare, glancing down at the young boy in her arms. "I… guess so." She shrugged.

"Don't worry Luce, we'll help!" Natsu grinned.

"Aye!" Happy cheered.

"Yeah, it would be unfair if we made you go through this by yourself Lu-Chan!" Levy smiled.

Fairy Tail nodded.

"We've got your back Lucy." Gray nodded.

Erza nodded in encouragement to her friend.

Lucy smiled. "Everyone… thank you." Lucy smiled brightly at her friends.

Porlyusica nodded to Makarov. "If that is all, I will be leaving." With that, the elderly women left.

"Ah Lucy!" Happy gasped, pointing at Laxus in shock.

Lucy blinked, staring down at Laxus to see the boy had fallen asleep. Lucy's eyes widened. "He fell asleep!" she mouthed to her friends who all smiled saying "Awe, how cute."

"Here, let him sleep here." Mira said softly, grabbing a blanket from inside a cabinet and placing it on one of the small couch like furniture's in Fairy Tail. Lucy carefully walked over to Mira, cradling the boy in her arms.

She leaned down to place Laxus down, but stopped when she realized he had a tight grip on her shirt.

She flinched. She tried to pull his arms off of her, without waking him up, but it wasn't working.

"He wont let go!" she hissed in a low voice. Levy covered her mouth, trying to stifle her giggles.

"He did a lot when he was little." Master nodded, his eyes closed as he took a stroll down memory lane.

"How do you get him to let go." Lucy hissed at the master.

"Try to pry him off, one finger at a time." Alzack shrugged. Bisca stared at him, her hands on her hips. Alzack shrugged.

Lucy tried to do as Alzack suggested, but just growled in annoyance.

"He had a death grip or something!" Lucy whined softly, causing the guild to chuckle in amusement.

"Don't just laugh, help me." Lucy sobbed.

After a couple more tries's Lucy sighed in surrender. She crawled on the couch with Laxus, Laxus snuggling up to her like he has done this morning.

Lucy glanced up at Fairy Tail to see them smiling at her, some of them were smirking.

"Don't just stare, shoo shoo!" Lucy hissed, waving her hand at them.

The guild chuckled, trying to go back to their daily activities… but it was hard, especially knowing there were two cute little blonds sleeping in the corner of the room.

Though Fairy Tail wasn't exactly sure what would happen in the next couple days, they knew this for sure… This was going to be something they would never forget.


	5. You are Laxus and no one else

The guild had been just as loud as ever within the past few days. Though Laxus was… smaller, and kinder to all of them, it still didn't stop the guild from their normal shenanigans.

Laxus through the past days had spent every waking moment by Lucy's side. Lucy had often found Laxus in her bed as well, even though she had placed him on the couch the night before.

Oddly enough though, she didn't mind. She had often felt a heart-warming feeling in her chest whenever Laxus was around. She had come to love him as a brother.

Some had even assumed they were siblings, since they both had blonde hair and were around each other so much.

"Flame brain!"

"Ice stripper!"

"Natsu Gray, stop fighting in front of Laxus!" Lucy snapped, not wanting them to be bad influences on little Laxus, who sometimes tried to copy some of the punches Gray and Natsu threw at each other.

Natsu and Gray paused to stare at Laxus. Both of them grinned. "Eh, you wanna fight too?' Gray asked. Laxus nodded, grinning up at the two.

"All right, I'm getting fired up!" Natsu cheered, pumping his fist in the air.

"Fired up." Laxus repeated.

"Stop it!" Lucy yelled, kicking the fire mage away. Lucy glared at the fire mage, who was now sprawled out on the floor, a large pump on his face. "W-Why." He mumbled in pain.

"Natsu!" Happy gasped, flying to his friend. Fairy Tail laughed.

"Yeah, we don't need another Natsu or Gray amongst us." Alzack laughed.

"Yeah, it would be better if the master's grandson was more like him anyway." One guild member laughed.

"Hopefully that's what will happen." Another member agreed.

Fairy Tail began to laugh again, except for a certain blond boy, who was staring at the ground.

Lucy saw that Laxus had not joined along in the laughter, and stared at Laxus confused. Laxus looked so… sad?

"Laxus?" she asked softly. The younger boy looked up at her in surprise, smiling as soon as he saw her face. "Lucy!" he smiled, wrapping his arms around her waist to hug her, burying his face in her stomach.

Lucy blinked in surprise, placing her hands on top of Laxus's head to hug him back.

The guild smiled at Lucy, happy to see that the two blondes were getting along so well.

"Hey Laxus, come play with me!" Romeo yelled, jumping up from his chair. Laxus turned around with a smile. "Okay!' he cheered, running forward. "Bye Lucy, be back soon!" Laxus cheered, running towards the exit of the guild with his new buddy, Romeo. "Take Freed with you." Lucy called.

Romeo and Laxus paused. "Lucyyyyyy~!" they whined in protest, turning towards her with their backs slouched.

"You're the ones who ended up destroying Mrs. Samoa's flower shop 3 days ago. Either he goes with you, or you don't go at all." Lucy placed her hands on her hips, giving the boys that look that only a mother can give.

The two boys flinched. "Okay." They sighed.

Freed, who always enjoyed being close to Laxus, smiled as he rose from his seat.

"I'll take good care of them Lucy." He promised.

"I want to come too!" Bixlow cheered, sticking out his tongue, showing off his fairy tail mark.

Lucy chuckled when Laxus pouted once again. "You two are boring though."

"Gack!" Bixlow and Freed gasped, as a large arrows saying "Boring" hit them in the back.

"T-That can't possible be true Laxus!" Freed cried.

Laxus folded his arms. Romeo snickered at the two. "Come on Laxus, lets see if these old mans can keep up with us." He chuckled, sprinting towards the door, Laxus right behind him.

"O-Old!" Bixlow gasped, charging after the two, Freed, who was trying to hold back his tears of being called bored, right behind him.

Lucy sighed at the 4, but smiled.

"You're such a good big sister." Mira chuckled, placing some tea in front of Lucy. Lucy chuckled. "You really think so? I'm so worried I'll teach Laxus something bad. Like… oh I dunno, I'll be a bad big sister or something."

"You're an amazing big sister Lu-Chan!" Levy argued.

"Yes I agree." Lucy looked towards the master in shock.

"Master." She whispered softly. The master looked up at her, giving her a warm grin.

Lucy smiled. "Thanks." She whispered softly. "I wonder though…" Erza's voice trailed off.

"Hmm?" Lucy asked, looking towards the Titania.

"What will Laxus be like, once he has returned to normal. Will he remember the events that have occurred within the last couple days, or will he change?" Erza mumbled softly.

Lucy blinked. She hadn't thought of it like that. It would be nice if Laxus stayed this age for the rest of time, but that's every parent's wish, isn't it. Not that Lucy thought of Laxus as a son or anything… like that…

Lucy rubbed her head, mumbling something about being too weird.

"I have another question." Gray announced.

Lucy looked over her should at the ice mage, telling him to continue with his question.

"Say this transformation thing never wears off. Will Laxus stay this age forever? Or will he grow older again?" Gray asked.

"Well, if that's the case… then he'll have to go through puberty again." Master smirked slightly

"Oh that's not going to be fun." Levy said softly.

Lucy chuckled. "Well, what ever happens, I'm just glad will all be here to help Laxus out."

The master nodded, folding his arms. "I agree."

"Hey Master, did you hear anything new about that masked guy Lucy saw?" Natsu asked, leaning against the bar counter.

The master shook his head. "Nothing of the sort I'm afraid. The council is still searching, but they have sent out warnings to other guilds."

"To attack a person then flee, that's not manly at all!" Elfman yelled in anger.

"Manly?" Happy questioned.

"Though I do understand slightly why they would wish to attack Fairy Tail members. We do have many enemies." Erza nodded.

"That may be true…" Lucy trailed off, causing her fellow guild members to look at her. "…But I can't help but wonder, why would they change Laxus into a small boy? I mean, when I found him, he was in terrible shape. If that masked man really wanted Laxus dead, then why would he waist his time changing Laxus into a 9 year old, when he could have just tired to kill him then and there?"

"Maybe they wanted to make him weaker or something. You know, so they could finish the job later." Gray suggested.

"Or they were after his magical power. It's easier to suck the magic out of a small child then a grown man." Levy announced, her eyes growing with worry.

"If any of those are the case… then we must be prepared and keep Laxus under close watch."

Fairy Tail nodded.

"Lets that masked man try to get close to Laxus!" Natsu yelled, pumping his fist in the air. "I'll show them a lesson they'll never forget! No one messes with Fairy Tail!"

"Aye!" Happy cheered.

Lucy chuckled at her two-team mates. She slowly looked down at her hands, her mind wandering back to that day she found Laxus.

**I leave Laxus and his fate in your hands, Lucy Heartfillia."**

Lucy wanted to let out a long sigh but held it in. That was one of the bits she had left out when she told the master what happened. She didn't even know why she did it.

It was just something she felt she wanted to understand first. Like there was something more to this then some random guy in a mask after Laxus and his magical power.

Lucy took a sip of her tea, trying to calm her nerves.

-Later that day-

"Bye Grandpa! See you tomorrow!" Laxus called to the master, waving good-bye from the doors of Fairy Tail.

Master held up his hand, smiling at Laxus, his pipe sticking out of his mouth. "Ah, good night Laxus."

Laxus smiled and turned back to Lucy who was opening the doors.

"Shall we go?" she asked.

"Oh!" Laxus cheered, pumping his fist in the air.

Lucy chuckled as she let Laxus walk passed her, and quickly followed after him. "So, what did you and Romeo do today? Freed said you two had fun."

"We went and played at Town Square… I mean, um we… hanged out at Town Square." Laxus said quickly, blushing a bit.

Lucy covered her mouth to stifle a giggle. It was so adorable when little kids tried to act all mature.

"Sounds fun. I hope you didn't cause Freed and Bixlow too much trouble."

"We didn't." Laxus pouted, folding his small arms over his chest.

Lucy nodded. "Ah, I see."

As they continued to walk, Lucy turned towards the river on her way home like she always did, the only difference this time was that Laxus was with her. Laxus giggled brightly as Lucy helped him balance on the wall next to the river, holding both of his small hands in hers.

"Be careful Lucy!" The fisherman yelled from their boat. "Don't want your little bro falling in the river now."

Lucy had paused from their call, and stared up at Laxus who was grinning at her. Lucy smiled softly. "I will." She called to them. Yeah, life was pretty good right now. Lucy couldn't help but feel worried though. That masked man still made her worry. What if he really did come after Laxus again, while he was in this state?

Lucy sighed.

"Hey, Lucy." Laxus's small voice caught her attention.

"Yes?" she asked.

Laxus was staring at his feet, his eyes avoiding hers.

"Laxus? What is it?" Lucy asked, knowing very well that when Laxus looked like that, he was upset.

"I… Do you think I'm strong?" Laxus asked softly.

Lucy blinked. "Of course I do Laxus." Lucy said softly. "What brought on this question though?"

"Everyone says since I'm grandpa's grandson, I'm probably going to be a strong and kind as him." Laxus muttered.

Lucy blinked, not quiet sure what the problem ways.

"That's all I am though. I'm not Laxus, I'm just Grandpa's grandson." Laxus growled, his small voice sounding angry.

Lucy's eyes widened in realization. She now understood. Laxus was having the same feelings she had often felt as a child. When she was with her dad, she wasn't Lucy. She was Lucky Lucy, daughter of the richest man in Earthland. No one had ever seen her as herself, that is until she came to Fairy Tail. Lucy smiled weakly at Laxus.

"You're Laxus to me." Lucy smiled, causing the small boy to look up at her in shock. "You're Laxus Dreyar, the amazing mage of Fairy Tail. You're whoever you want to be. Your strength and kindness is your own. You'll be an amazing mage when you're older, and definitely surpass your grandfather." Lucy smiled.

Laxus's eyes widened, a small blush spreading a crossed his face. "L-Lucy." He sniffed. "LUCY!" the boy dove forward, causing Lucy to yelp in shock when he fell into her arms. Lucy stared down at the sobbing boy in shock.

She smiled softly and caressed his hair, holding him close. "_You are you, Laxus, and no one else."_

Lucy couldn't help but wonder though. Was that one of the reason's Laxus had been so mean before? He was upset with all of those who only saw him as the Master's grandson, so he grew mean to seem different from everyone's expectations.

Lucy shook her head. Silly Lucy, you're just assuming things now.

Lucy glanced down at the boy in her arms to see he had fallen asleep. "Eh…. Ha." Lucy chuckled softly, lifting the boy up. She stared down at the sleeping child as they walked back to her apartment.

Once they had reached the building, Lucy used her foot to open the door. It was a good thing she had left it un-locked this morning. Lucy glanced at the couch, knowing very well if she did place Laxus there, he would probably just wake up in the middle of the night and sneak into her bed. So instead, she placed him in her bed. "Good Night Laxus." She said softly, grabbing the blankets so she could place them over the sleeping child. As she took a hold of the silk sheets, she froze.

Why was Laxus's hand... glowing?

"L-Laxus?" she stuttered in surprise as his hand continued to glow.

The boy stayed fast asleep though, not even realizing what his own body was doing.

As the light dimmed, Laxus steered a little in his sleep, till the light had completely faded.

Lucy stood there in shock for a long time, not completely sure what had just occurred. She leaned towards Laxus carefully, staring intently at his hand.

The small hand looked about as normal as ever… except… there was a strange looking mark now.

It looked like a number 1.

"One?" Lucy questioned, looking closer at the number. As she tried to examine it more closely, the number seemed to disappear into Laxus's skin, as if it had never been there. Lucy fell silent.

"Okay… I think… I need to get some sleep now." Lucy muttered softly, scooting the boy over and hopping into bed. "Yeah, sleep… that's all I need." Lucy sighed, closing her eyes.

Why did all the weird stuff happen when she was around?

-Next morning-

Lucy yawned as the bright sun shinned through her curtains, hitting her directly in the face. She glanced down, seeing a familiar puff of blond hair sticking out from the sheets.

Lucy smiled but blinked when she felt Laxus's grip around her waist tightening.

It was never a big deal to her if Laxus suddenly began to snuggle with her. He did it every night actually, ever since she had first found him in her bed.

There was something about today though…. Like a sudden change in arm length. Laxus had never been able to wrap his arms around her entire waist before.

Lucy quickly removed the sheets, her eyes growing wide at what she saw.

"L…L…Laxus?" Lucy stuttered, staring at the small boy… who wasn't as small any more.

Laxus, the former 23 year old, then 8 year old… was now 11 years old.

11 years old… Lucy had heard that time for a parent goes by fast when you have kids… but this was just ridiculous.

Lucy gulped. C-Calm down Lucy. It's just like when you first found him in your bed.

"Lucy." Laxus muttered softly, his voice slightly deeper now.

"….. Well… This is a little unexpected…" Lucy said slowly, trying to stay as calm as her mind allowed her. "L-Laxus, wake up please." Lucy laughed nervously, shacking the younger boy.

Laxus stirred in his sleep, slowly opening his eyes to stare up at Lucy.

"Lucy!" he grinned when he saw her face. Laxus sat up, turning around to sit on his knees and stare at the older celestial mage with excitement. "Hey Lucy guess what, I had a really weird dream last night!" Laxus laughed.

"….R-Really… so you um… do remember what happened yesterday, correct?" Lucy asked slowly, hoping the boy had begun to realize that he was suddenly changing in age.

"…Um… no…" Laxus said slowly, rubbing his chin.

Lucy sighed in disappointment. "It's okay then. So, what was your dream about…" Lucy sat up. It was probably better to just go along with this. The transformation spell that was on Laxus was probably beginning to wear off. This meant that Laxus would eventually return to his regular age.

"Well, I was walking through this white space, when suddenly, this guy in a mask appeared!" Laxus waved his arms around for effect.

Lucy froze. "Guy in a mask?" she thought in shock, whirling around towards Laxus. "What did this masked man do?" Lucy asked quickly, causing Laxus to blink at her for suddenly taking such a large interest in his story.

"Oh well, he didn't do much. He said "You're first lesson was learned" then just, left." Laxus shrugged.

"First lesson… was learned?" Lucy repeated, becoming very confused. What did all of this mean? The reason that masked guy attacked Laxus…. Was to teach him a lesson of some sort. No wait, Laxus said that the first lesson was learned. Which means there were probably more lessons to come.

What exactly was the first lesson Laxus learned though? What was the point of these lessons as well? Lucy thought back to the night before. It wasn't an illusination Lucy saw when that number 1 appeared on Laxus's hand!

""Laxus, do you happen to now that this first lesson was?" Lucy asked, hoping the boy could help her figure this out in some way.

"Hmmm… well uh… I don't know." He shrugged. Laxus blinked staring down at his cloths, which were now much too small for him.

"I need bigger cloths." He whined, trying to pull down his shirt, which was now showing off his belly button.

Lucy smirked. "Getting a little chubby in the tummy aren't we?" she cooed, poking the younger blond in the stomach.

"I-I am not!" Laxus squeaked, blushing in embarrassment.

"I don't know Laxus, I mean… your stomach is pretty round." Lucy shrugged, poking his stomach once again, causing a small giggle to escape the boys lips.

Lucy gasped. "Was that… a giggle I just heard?" Lucy questioned slowly.

"N-No! Boys don't giggle!" Laxus argued.

"I don't know, are you sure?" Lucy asked innocently, poking at Laxus's side.

"Gah!" Laxus squeaked, pushing Lucy's hand away. "S-Stop it." Laxus laughed, trying to cover up his stomach.

"Don't try and fight it Laxus!" Lucy laughed, poking at Laxus's side repeatedly, sometimes getting blocked by the boy's smaller hands.

"Q-Quit it!" Laxus giggled, jumping off the bed in attempt to escape the older blonde.

"I told you not to try and escape Laxus!" Lucy laughed, chasing after the smaller boy, a large smile on her face.

Lesson 1. What did any of this mean? Lucy didn't understand at all. She had to tell the master about this… as soon as she caught Laxus of course.

"Laxus just come here. We need to change your cloths!" Lucy yelled.

"I can change by myself! You just want to tickle me!" Laxus argued.

"Wha- no! No way!" Lucy said innocently, trying to hold back a smirk.


	6. Merry Christmas!

**Okay everyone, since it's almost Christmas, I am going to write a Christmas chapter. I hope you don't mind. Please enjoy, and Happy Holidays!**

Lucy slowly opened her eyes, squinting as soon as the light from her window hit her eyes. She glanced down to see the familiar poof of blonde sticking out from under her covers. Lucy removed the sheets and smiled down at the young boy who was clinging to her shirt tightly.

"Laxus… Laxus wake up, it's Christmas Eve." Lucy said softly, shacking the younger blonde. Laxus's eyes snapped open and he sat up, pumping both fists in the air screaming. "Christmas!"

"Eve." Lucy reminded him. Laxus paused, rethinking the days. "Oh… yeah." He sighed in disappointment. "I still get to open 1 present today though, right?" Laxus grinned, whirling around to stare at Lucy with wide eyes, filled with excitement.

"Yes, yes. Of course." Lucy chuckled, lifting the boy up and placing him on the floor. "Go get dressed now, then we can head over to the guild."

"Right!" the 11 year old saluted before scurrying off to grab his cloths. Lucy chuckled as she watched Laxus stumble into the bathroom, quickly closing the door. Taking that as her chance, Lucy quickly got change herself. Knowing it was probably cold Lucy changed into a sweater and jeans. Laxus re-entered the room just as Lucy reached for her coat. "It might be cold, so grab your jacket." Lucy said. Laxus nodded and rushed to get his red jacket. Once the two were read to go, they quickly exited the building, and headed towards Fairy Tail.

"Hey Lucy." Laxus said as the two walked side-by-side, holding each other's hand.

"Yes Laxus?" Lucy smiled down at the boy.

"How come it hasn't snowed yet?" Laxus looked around at the clear streets, then back up at the clear blue sky. A cloud was nowhere to be seen, only a cold breeze filled the air.

"Hmm, I don't know. I'm sure it will snow soon though." Lucy shrugged.

"Christmas is tomorrow though!" Laxus whined. "You can't have Christmas without snow."

"I don't know about that Laxus. A lot of people go through Christmas without snow."

Laxus looked up at her with a pout. "It will snow here though, right?"

Lucy flinched as Laxus's bottom lip began to quiver and his eyes grew wide, like a puppy. "U-Uh… Y-Yeah, it definitely will." Lucy smiled weakly.

Laxus pumped his right hand in the air, his left still holding onto Lucy's right hand. "Whoa!" he cheered, jumping up a bit. "Then that's what I wish for! I wish it will snow for Christmas!" Laxus smiled brightly up at the older celestial mage.

Lucy stared down at Laxus, her eyes wide with shock. A soft smile spread across her lips. "That's sounds wonderful Laxus." Lucy said softly as they approached the guild entrance.

Lucy opened the doors and smiled at the sight of the guild, which was busy setting up for the Christmas party that would be held that night.

"Hey Romeo!" Laxus yelled, waving at his friend. Romeo turned towards Laxus with a grin, but frowned at the sight of him.

"Laxus? You look…."

Lucy stepped behind Laxus, waving at Romeo, trying to tell him not to mention anything. Lucy had forgot, Laxus had changed ages again, but yet again, Laxus was not aware of that fact.

"Uh… " Romeo stared at Lucy, slowly beginning to understand that it was probably the spells doing. "Great." Romeo nodded, poking at Laxus's new red jacket that Makarov had got him.

"Thanks." Laxus grinned. Lucy let out a sigh of relief, smiling at Romeo, who smiled back.

"Hey Luce!" Natsu called, running up to the 3, Happy by his side. "Come on, it's time to put decorations of the tree and….uh…" Natsu paused to stare at Laxus. Laxus blinked up at him, confused.

"Oh okay Natsu, Happy. We're coming." Lucy pushed the fire mage and blue cat forward, leaning towards their ears to whisper, "It's part of the spell, it's starting to wear off, don't say anything about it to Laxus though, he doesn't realize what's going on."

Natsu blinked. "I see." He nodded.

"Oh." Happy nodded.

"Well, come on Laxus. Lets go!" Natsu grinned, dragging the younger boy towards the tree.

Though as they paused, everyone in the guild paused from what they were doing to stare at Laxus.

Those who realized it was probably the spells doing turned away to get back to work, while those who didn't understand rushed to Lucy's side to get some answers.

After explaining the situation several times, Lucy finally collapsed near the bar. Mirajane chuckled as she placed some water in front of Lucy. "Having a nice Christmas?"

"Yeah, it's good." Lucy shrugged, taking a sip of her drink.

"How's Laxus doing?" Mira asked.

Lucy glanced over her shoulder towards the large tree that Natsu had dragged in, to see Makarov, in his giant form, holding Laxus up towards the top of the tree. Laxus was clutching a star, and stretched his arms out so he could place it on top of the tree. "It's finished!" Laxus cheered. Natsu and Happy and the other guild members cheered as Makarov stared with a father like smile.

"He's good." Lucy smiled softly. "I still need to find him a gift though." Lucy sighed.

"You mean you haven't gotten one for him yet?" Levy gasped, sitting down next to Lucy.

"It's been hard. He almost never leaves my side. It's not exactly easy to go Christmas shopping for someone when they're there in the store with you."

Levy and Mirajane shrugged in agreement.

"What are you going to do?" Levy asked.

"Well… Laxus said what he wanted most for Christmas, is that he wanted it to snow."

"Snow?" Mira smiled.

Lucy nodded. "He said it isn't Christmas without snow. Maybe I could ask Gray for help." Lucy blinked, glancing at the Ice mage who was busy putting up Christmas decorations. "Are you going to get him anything else?" Levy pushed.

"I sort have to. I promised he'd get to open 1 present today. So… If you two could distract Laxus, while I go buy him a present, that would be awesome." Lucy smiled nervously as she rose to her feet.

"All right, sure Lu-Chan." Levy smiled.

"All right, thanks! I owe you two!" Lucy smiled, quickly running towards the door.

"Hurry back!" Mira called.

Lucy nodded and ran out the door, quickly heading towards the nearest store. As Lucy entered the small toy store, she quickly began her search. She would have to hurry though. Christmas Eve was never a good time to go Christmas shopping.

"Can I help you Ms?" The store worker asked, his voice dull and bored. He probably didn't want to be here either.

"Oh, sorry. I just… Hey, if you were a 11 year old boy, what would you want for Christmas?" Lucy smiled.

The store worker blinked, thinking over the question. "Well…" he rubbed his chin in thought, his boring workday suddenly getting a bit more exciting.

"I suppose… Hey wait, are you from Fairy Tail?" The worker asked, tilting his head.

Lucy smiled and nodded. "Yes, I'm getting a present for a friend. He's 11 though and I'm not sure what he would want."

"Does he hand out around the guild?" The worker questioned.

"Yes, why?" Lucy tilted her head. The worker smiled at a thought and motioned for Lucy to follow him. Lucy followed the man through the store towards the back.

"These seemed to be the most popular this year, maybe he will like it." The worker shrugged, handing Lucy a small box.

Lucy stared at the box confused and quickly opened it. Inside the box was a snow globe. The snow globe had a Fairy Tail mark engraved on the glass and on the bottom, and had a small Fairy, with a tail, standing in the center.

"It's perfect!" Lucy gasped, staring at the snow globe with a smile.

The worker nodded. "It's your lucky day then. 1 purchase of the Fairy Tail snow globes and you get a second surprise gift free." The worker said over his shoulder as he led Lucy back to the register.

"Surprise gift?" Lucy questioned.

"Ah, a snow globe buyer!" A girl grinned, popping up from behind the counter. Lucy jumped.

The boy next to Lucy jumped as well, growling at the girl. "Nora! Stop doing that!" he snapped.

Nora grinned. "Anyway, I see you're buying a snow globe. So that means you get a surprise gift." Nora reached behind her and pulled out a large box, filled to the top with small wrapped gifts. "See, you just pick one of these, and you see what's inside."

Lucy blinked, staring into the box. "Surprise gift huh." She mumbled grabbing one that was wrapped in yellow.

The two workers smiled as Lucy purchased her present. "Thanks again, Merry Christmas!" Lucy called to the two as she left. Lucky enough, the workers had been nice enough to wrap the snow globe for Lucy, so she wouldn't have to worry about getting wrapping paper as well.

Lucy quickly walked back to the guild and opened the doors to see that almost all the decorations were now put up.

"I'm back!" Lucy called. Several guild members waved her and called out a greeting before going back to their conversations.

"Lucy!" Laxus called, running up to her. "Where did you go? I missed you!" Laxus pouted angrily up at the older blonde.

"Sorry Laxus I just… uh… had to grab this from home." Lucy smiled, shacking the two presents in her hand.

"Oh! Presents!" Laxus cheered, jumping up and down. "Can I open one? Can I open one!" Laxus yelled.

Lucy glanced up to see Mira and Levy smiling at her. Lucy smiled back before looking back down at Laxus. "Sure. Here, open this first. I'll be honest though, I don't know what's inside it either. It's a surprise gift." Lucy grinned.

"Surprise gift? Cool!" Laxus snatched the gift away and shook a bit, trying to guess what was inside before he actually tore off the yellow paper.

"Oh just open it silly." Lucy laughed as she led Laxus over to the bar where Mira and Levy were sitting. Laxus ripped open the paper quickly as Lucy sat down.

"Well, what is it?" Levy smiled, leaning closer.

Laxus stared down at the box, his eyes wide. He reached inside, grabbing what ever was in the box, and slowly lifted it up for all to see. In Laxus's grip was a golden locket, hanging from a silver chain. The word "Nakama" was engraved on the back of the locket in golden letters.

"Its beautiful!" Levy and Mira gasped.

"It's girly!" Laxus pouted.

"Girly?" Lucy laughed.

"Yeah! Guys don't wear lockets!" Laxus stomped his feet angrily.

"Aww but Laxus, it would look good on you." Mira smiled. Mira blinked, smiling. "Here! You can even put this picture in it." Mira ducked down behind the bar, moving a couple bottles away to pull out several pictures. When she found the picture she wanted, she handed it to Laxus, who stared at it.

The picture was of Lucy and Laxus, though Laxus was a 8 year old. The two were hugging, the sides of their faces were pressed together and they were grinning happily.

Laxus's cheeks turned pink and he looked away. "No! That's too embarrassing! What guy do you know goes walking around wearing a locket!"

Lucy reached out and took the locket and picture from Laxus's head. Lucy opened the locket and placed the picture on one side, since the locket was shaped like a heart and had two sides.

Lucy closed the locket and held it up. "There, done." She smiled.

Laxus stared at Lucy for a long time, a large pout on his face.

"You don't have to wear it if you don't want to Laxus." Lucy smiled. "Can you keep it though? You can leave it at home. It would just be nice to know that you have it somewhere." Lucy smiled, placing the locket in Laxus's hand. Laxus stared down at the locket and slowly nodded, stuffing it in his pocket.

Mira and Levy pouted at Laxus, but quickly let it go.

"Is that other present in your hands for Laxus too?' Levy asked.

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure he'll like this one better than the locket though." Lucy smiled innocently.

Laxus's eyes widened. "Really? What is it?" Laxus grinned.

"Ah Ah Ah, can't tell." Lucy smirked. "I told you one present today. You're going to have to wait till tomorrow to open this one up."

"Aww, Lucy!" Laxus whined.

"Rules are rules Laxus." Erza announced, sitting down next to Lucy to join the conversation.

Laxus stared at the scarlet haired mage, before nodding. "Okay."

"LET THE PARTY BEGIN!" Master Makarov suddenly yelled. Fairy Tail let out a wild cheer as the music began to play.

Lucy let out a laugh as Laxus began to spin in circles. Lucy quickly got to her feet and took Laxus's hands, spinning in circles with him.

Levy, Mira, and Erza smiled as they watched the two blonde mages dance together.

As the music continued, Mira eventually slowed the party down when she sang "Silent night"

The guild was filled with the soft music, not even realizing that midnight was quickly getting closer. As Mira's song ended the loud upbeat music quickly began to play again. Hot chocolate was spilled, eggnog was thrown, and drunken guild members began to collapse.

"Well, I think we had enough partying for tonight." Lucy chuckled as she looked down at Laxus, who was collapsed on the ground near Romeo, empty cartens of eggnog were scattered around them from their eggnog drinking contest.

With the help of Gray, Lucy lifted Laxus on her back in a piggyback ride.

"You sure you don't need help getting home?" Gray asked.

"Yeah I'm good." Lucy smiled as she turned away. "Oh hey Gray, I was wondering. At some point tomorrow…" Lucy leaned towards Gray's hear so Laxus couldn't hear her. "Could you possibly make it snow?" Lucy whispered.

Gray blinked and shrugged. "Yeah sure."

"Great, thanks Gray!" Lucy smiled walking towards the guild's entrance.

As Lucy walked down at the streets of Magnolia, she smiled at all the bright lights. She paused when she saw a clock, showing the count down till Christmas.

**35 seconds till Christmas**

Whoa, they were at that party for a long time. "Laxus, Laxus wake up!" Lucy said softly, using her fore arms to shack the boy.

Laxus slowly opened his eyes, his head leaving Lucy's back to rest on her shoulder. "Huh?" he mumbled.

"Look." Lucy pointed to the clock, which was now on 20 seconds.

"A count down." Laxus muttered.

Lucy nodded with a smile. Laxus smiled, still half asleep as he began to count down. "10, 9, 8, 7, 6," he mumbled the numbers.

"5, 4, 3, 2," Lucy joined along.

"1! Merry Christmas!" The two yelled into the sky. As Lucy and Laxus stared up at the sky, the blinked at the sight of something white a small flying towards them. The white flake slowly drifted down, landing on Laxus's nose. Lucy's eyes widened when the flake disappeared, leaving a drop of water on Laxus's nose.

"…Snow…" Laxus's eyes widened, crossing his eyes to stare at his nose.

Lucy and Laxus looked up again, just in time to see several flakes of snow slowly drifting towards the ground.

"It's snowing." Lucy murmured.

Laxus's sleepy eyes slowly opened with joy. "My wish… my wish came true." He whispered softly, his grip around Lucy's shoulder tightening.

Lucy blinked. It snowed… right on the strike of midnight?

Lucy eyes widened. Gray and Juvia. Lucy smiled. She would have to thank them later.

"Hohoho! Merry Christmas!" A voice filled the air, causing Lucy to jump a bit and look around. There was no one around though. At least, not on the streets.

"Lucy!" Laxus gasped, causing the celestial mage to look up at the sky, just in time to see something that looked like a sleigh, being pulled by 7 reindeer, carrying a man in a red suit.

Lucy and Laxus stared at the sky for a long time, even after the sleigh disappeared.

"L-Lucy…" Laxus whispered softly. "Was that…"

"I don't know… maybe it was just the snow, mixing together in a weird way." As Lucy said that though, she knew somewhere in her heart it was a lie.

Laxus's head slowly leaned down again, resting on her shoulder. "This is the best Christmas ever." He said in a soft sigh.

Lucy smiled over her shoulder at him, her eyes softening when he closed his eyes to fall back asleep.

Lucy walked forward, towards her apartment. This was a very good Christmas indeed.

When Lucy got home, she quickly placed Laxus on the bed, taking off his shoes and jacket. She did the same, realizing that she was too tired to change into her pajamas, or change Laxus into his. Lucy crawled into her bed, smiling when Laxus instantly turned around, snuggling up as close as he could to her. Lucy brushed some of Laxus's bangs away from his face, but gasped when she saw something glisten by Laxus's neck. Lucy moved Laxus's shirt a bit to see what was on Laxus's neck. Her eyes doubled in size at the sight of the heart shaped locket. He was wearing the locket!

Laxus was… wearing the locket she got him… ish. She didn't actually know that she got it for him, but that's not the point. Lucy smiled softly, wrapping her arms around Laxus, she leaned down and kissed the top of his head.

"Good night Laxus." She whispered before closing her eyes.

-9:00 A.M.-

"Lucy! Lucy! Santa came! Santa came!" Laxus shook Lucy violently.

Lucy snapped her eyes opened in shock, not used to being woke up like this, especially on Christmas. (This must be how parents feel)

"Look, look!' Laxus pointed towards the small tree Natsu and Gray had got them, to reveal that there were in fact several well wrapped present under the tree.

Lucy's eyes widened, realizing that she had not put those presents there. Lucy and Laxus looked at each other, then quickly bolted to the tree.

"Whoa! Can I open this now?" Laxus begged, holding up Lucy's gift to him.

"Sure." Lucy smiled, blinked when Laxus instantly began to rip the paper off. Laxus pulled away the paper, his eyes widened at the sight of the snow globe. "It's a fairy… With a tail!" Laxus gasped, practically falling backwards in shock.

Lucy chuckled. "Yes, yes it is." She nodded. "Thanks Lucy!" Laxus cheered, tackling Lucy into the ground to hug her. Lucy laughed as she hugged the younger boy back.

Once the two had opened their presents from Santa, (which was some new pens, a new notebook or two for Lucy, and some toys for Laxus) they quickly got ready, and headed towards Fairy Tail. Happily running through the fresh snow that covered the ground.

When they entered the guild, the two smiled at the sight of everyone either opening their gifts or showing off their gifts to everyone else.

"Lucy, just in time, come have some hot chocolate!" Mira smiled, placing two cups on the bar.

Laxus grinned and instantly ran to the bar, jumping on one of the seats to grab his cup. "In one second." Lucy smiled at Mira. She walked over to Gray.

"Hey Gray, thanks again for making it snow last night. You wouldn't believe what I though I saw though. Making it snow right at midnight was a nice touch though."

Gray stared at her confused. "What do you mean? I didn't make it snow last night."

Lucy paused. "You… you didn't?"

"No." Gray shook his head. "I was going to today, but it all ready did last night."

Gray's eyes widened when Lucy suddenly went pale. "Lucy? Hey Lucy, you okay?' Gray asked, waving a hand in front of the blondes face.

"Y-You mean… that was actually S-S-S-Sa-San…ta?"

"What?" Gray questioned, not understand what Lucy was saying. "Whoa! Lucy!" Gray gasped when Lucy suddenly fell over, hitting the floor with a thump.

Gray's eyes were wide as she stared down at Lucy, who had fainted. "E-Erza!" Gray called the Titania for help.

**Haha, just had to add that. Hope you all enjoyed the new chapter!**


	7. Questions, love, and masked figures

Makarov, was sitting as his desk, fell silent, thinking over Lucy's announcement slowly. "A number appeared on his hand, and he saw the masked man in his dream?" The master repeated, wanting to make sure he had heard the younger celestial mage correctly.

"Yes, that's right." Lucy, who was currently standing in the Master's office, nodded.

Makarov rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I see. Then this has become much more than a simple transformation. Who ever did this has much bigger plans for Laxus then we realize. How did this mainly occur?" Makarov asked, looking towards Lucy.

"Hmm?" Lucy questioned, not understanding what the Master meant.

"I mean, did Laxus do something different the day he changed to cause him to change once again into another age?" Master explained.

"Oh." Lucy nodded, trying to remember all of the things that had happened that day. "Well, Laxus said that the masked man in his dream told him that one of his lessons was learned." Lucy mumbled softly. "I'm assuming there will be more lessons, and each lesson he learns the closer he will get to his original age."

Makarov nodded. "What was his first lesson?"

Lucy paused, her gaze moving to the floor. "I… I'm not completely sure." Lucy said softly. "I think…."

Lucy's mind wondered back to the night Laxus had changed from and 8 year old to an 11 year old.

"_I… Do you think I'm strong?" Laxus asked softly._

_Lucy blinked. "Of course I do Laxus." Lucy said softly. "What brought on this question though?"_

_"Everyone says since I'm grandpa's grandson, I'm probably going to be a strong and kind as him." Laxus muttered._

Lucy's eyes widened.

_"You're Laxus to me." Lucy smiled, causing the small boy to look up at her in shock. "You're Laxus Dreyar, the amazing mage of Fairy Tail. You're whoever you want to be. Your strength and kindness is your own. You'll be an amazing mage when you're older, and definitely surpass your grandfather." Lucy smiled._

_Laxus's eyes widened, a small blush spreading a crossed his face. "L-Lucy." He sniffed. "LUCY!" the boy dove forward, causing Lucy to yelp in shock when he fell into her arms._

That must of been it!

"That he is who he wants to be, not who people expect him to be." Lucy smiled softly. Makarov blinked in surprise, unaware that Laxus had felt that he had to be who everyone expected him to be.

"I see." Makarov nodded, smiling softly. "Thank you Lucy. That is all, you may return to Laxus now. He's probably waiting." The elderly man grinned.

Lucy nodded, turning away from the master to open the door. "Good bye master, see you later." Lucy said with a smile before exiting the room.

Makarov held up a hand, nodding towards the young celestial mage as she left. Once she had gone, his hand fell back to his side. His eyes narrowed as he looked down at his feet. "Lessons, huh." he mumbled. This whole thing was rather unsettling. Why would some turn Laxus into a child, just to teach him a few lessons?

Makarov sighed, jumping off his desk to join everyone else outside. He needed a drink.

As the Master entered the room, he smiled at the sight of Laxus, once again hugging Lucy when he saw her. Lucy smiled down at the boy, her arms wrapped around his shoulders. Since Laxus was now 11, he was a little taller, so it was easier for Lucy to hug him back without having to bend down.

Laxus had been very clingy to Lucy for the past couple weeks. When ever she left, even for just a few minutes, Laxus seemed not as cheerful as when she was around. As soon as she would return though, he would run up to her and embrace her, like he hadn't seen her in years.

Laxus adored Lucy, and Lucy felt the same of Laxus.

"Lucy, don't run off like that, I missed you- I mean, I didn't know where you were." Laxus pouted, trying to act mature. Lucy chuckled.

"Sorry Laxus, I had to talk to your grandfather." Lucy smiled.

"Eh? Why?" Laxus asked.

Lucy paused. "It was just a small talk." she assured him. Laxus nodded slowly, grinning up at Lucy.

"Hey Lucy, there is a new park opening up on the other side of town, can we go? Cause see, Romeo and me were going to go see it, and we want you to come along."

Lucy blinked, looking towards Romeo who was waiting by the door, grinning at her.

"Sure." Lucy nodded.

Laxus's eyes brightened. "Yes!" he cheered, running towards Romeo, pulling Lucy behind him.

"Make sure Romeo doesn't do anything bad Lucy." Macao called from one of the tables.

Romeo pouted at his dad, folding his arms. "Don't tell Lucy stuff like that!' he ordered angrily, causing Macao to chuckle and wave goodbye to his son.

Romeo waved back before running out the door with Laxus, Lucy right behind them.

As the three walked towards the park, Lucy couldn't help but think back to her apartment. The rent was due soon, and she hadn't been able to go on any missions lately. When Laxus was 8, she couldn't take him with her because he was too young, but she couldn't leave him behind either. Porlyusica had said that it would be bad to separate for too long, so leaving him wasn't an option. So Lucy ended up staying in Magnolia while asking Natsu to get some money for. Once he had returned with enough money for her rent, she had rewarded him with a large hand made feast.

Now that Laxus was 11 though, his magic power was still extremely weak, and it would be dangerous to bring him along. She would have to think of some solution.

Maybe she could find an easy mission, like delivering something, or helping someone find something, then she could bring Laxus with her and not leave him alone.

Lucy nodded to herself. It was a plan. Plus, knowing Laxus, he wouldn't mind going on a mission. In a way, it would sort of be like his first one ever.

Lucy grinned. Maybe she could even convince Macao to let Romeo come along with them.

-**At the top of the many building of Magnolia-**

On top of one of the building of Magnolia, two masked figures stood, staring down at the 3 young mages who were currently on their way to the park.

"The boy had began to change all ready?" A female voice questioned, staring down at Laxus.

"Lucy Heartfillia was the main reason for that. I believe I made the right choice in picking her to watch over Laxus Dreyar." A male voice answered. It was the masked man from before. The one who had started this whole mess.

"Why though Master? Why did you pick her? She is not as strong as the other mages of Fairy Tail. why did you chose her to be the one to change the boys destiny?" The female voice demanded.

"She may not seem strong, but that girl as a much greater power then most realize. She knows similar pain Laxus Dreyar feels. Just be patient Hikari. The next lesson will test the boy." With that, the masked man turn and disappeared into the shadows.

The so called Hikari sighed, taking one last glance at Lucy and Laxus. "Yes, but what is the cost of these lessons? What is point of this whole thing? Master, I just don't understand why you wish to change what is meant to come. Or is it more… you wish not send that boy into darkness. To give him a second chance of redemption, before he is sent down a path that is very hard to break from." Hikari mumbled to herself before also disappearing into the shadows.

**Sorry for the wait, please enjoy!**


	8. You are not alone

"Lucy, where are we going?" Laxus whined as Lucy led Romeo and him towards the request board. Lucy had asked Macao and the Master if Romeo and Laxus could join along in the mission and they had agreed, as long as it was an easy mission and Lucy made sure both boys came back safely.

"Well, we're going away from Magnolia for a while." Lucy chuckled.

"Hmm? Why?" Laxus and Romeo questioned, looking up at the older celestial mage, confused.

Lucy grinned at them, stopping just in front of the request board. "Cause boys, we're going on a mission!" Lucy announced, waving her arm out and stepping to the side for the boys to see the request board.

Romeo and Laxus' eyes grew round, practically popping out from their eye sockets. "A mission? Really!" they gasped in excitement. Macao chuckled from his spot next to Makarov, watching the two boys with a grin.

Lucy nodded. "Macao and the Master said it was okay, as long as it's easy. So you two may pick the mission." Lucy grinned.

Laxus and Romeo grinned at each other before scrambling for the requests. "Yippee!" they cheered.

Lucy chuckled as she watched the two. Since she all ready had most of the money for her rent from what Natsu and Erza gave her, they only need an easy paying job.

"This one!" Romeo said, pointing to one.

"Help with moving to Harshvord." Laxus read. "That's too boring." Laxus stuck out his tongue. Romeo glared at him, sticking his tongue back at Laxus.

Lucy giggled again as she watched the two argue about which request to go on.

"This one!" Laxus insisted, pointing to one request.

"No way!"

"Then this one?"

"No!"

Both of the boys suddenly gasped, their eyes landing on one request in particular. They grinned. "Lucy! This one!" they declared, snatching the paper off the board.

Tilting her head, Lucy examined the paper thoughtfully. "Escort three civilians over the mountains of Rienst." Nodding, Lucy smiled. "You two sure you want this one?"

"Yup!" they cheered, jumping up and down.

Chuckling at the two, Lucy walked towards Mira. "Okay. We'll be heading off on this mission Mira." Lucy explained, handing the paper to the white haired mage.

Scanning over the paper, Mira nodded. "Have a safe trip." She smiled kindly, handing it back to Lucy.

"Yeah! Mission, mission!" The boys cheered, running around the guild. Some members grinned at their wild energy.  
>"Grandpa! We've chosen a mission!' Laxus ran up to Makarov, grinning widely.<p>

"A mission eh?" Makarov gave Lucy a knowing smile. "Have fun now, don't cause Lucy too much trouble."

"We wont." Romeo and Laxus nodded.

"Romeo. Macao called. "Be safe now."

"I will Dad." Romeo smiled. Romeo froze, thinking something over. "Hey wait… does this mean we are apart of the guild now!"

Makarov blinked, chuckling. "I suppose it does a bit."

"Do we get guild stamps?" Laxus gawked.

"Not yet Laxus. You need to be a little older to be a official member." Macao and Makarov said together.  
>"Aww." The two whined, disappointed.<p>

Lucy patted their heads, giving them a warm smile. "It's okay. How about we go get packed for the mission? You'll probably need some camping equipment."

Their disappointment forgotten, both nodded, running for the doors.

"Lucy." Makarov called as she began to walk after them.

"Be careful."

Lucy blinked, nodding. "Don't worry. I'll protect them." She grinned.

~~~Later~~~

"Wah! A mission!" Romeo giggled excitedly, staring out the window of the train. After gathering their equipment and saying their final good byes to Fairy Tail, the team headed out.

Within minutes they were on the train, headed to their destination.

"Neh Lucy, how long will it take to get there?" Laxus asked, leaning over on his chair.

Since it was all ready 5:00 in the afternoon, due to Laxus not being able to find his sleeping bag and Romeo and Laxus arguing over what their team's name would be, the time it would take to get there would be 3 hours. So even when they arrived they wouldn't be able to continue the mission until tomorrow.

Plus, there was a little problem with Natsu and Happy on the way. They were a little upset that Lucy wouldn't allow them to go on the mission with Laxus, Romeo and her. No matter what, she wasn't going to let them influence Laxus and Romeo with their destructive ways.

"In a few hours." Lucy answered, propping her elbow up on the seat and leaning against it.

"What do we do till then?" Romeo whined.

"…Talk?" Lucy shrugged.

Both boys were silent, staring at their older guardian in silence. "'Bout what?"

Lucy flinched. "I don't know… um…" Lucy scratched the back of her head.  
>"Tell us how you joined Fairy Tail!" Laxus suddenly insisted.<br>"How I joined Fairy Tail?" she asked, tilting her head.

The boys nodded, looking very excited. Lucy slowly smiled, leaning forward. "Okay. I guess, it all started…" Lucy paused to let the boys adjust to a comfortable position before she continued. "When I visited Harujion. I hadn't joined any guilds yet, but I really wanted to join Fairy Tail."

"Cause it's a super strong guild, right?" Romeo guessed.  
>"Yeah. I had looked up to Fairy Tail since I was your age Romeo. So when I left home I wanted to join it as soon as I could. When I stopped at Heroin though, I met a pink haired boy and a flying blue cat."<p>

"Happy and Natsu!" Laxus exclaimed.

"Bingo." Lucy grinned. "They had actually saved me from a spell some jerk was putting on me, though they didn't realize it. Natsu and Happy end up saving me so many times. They saved me twice while I was in Heroin."

"Wah, Natsu-nii is so cool." Romeo cooed.

Laxus folded his arms. "I'll protect Lucy too, just like Natsu." Laxus exclaimed, determination burning in his eyes.  
>"You're too weak Laxus." Romeo pointed out.<br>"Am not." Laxus argued.  
>"Are too. I'd protect Lucy-nee so much better then you." Romeo smirked.<br>"Would not! I'll definitely protect Lucy from everything that tries to hurt her." Laxus barked.

Romeo and Laxus growled at each other, yelling and screaming at one another about who would protect Lucy better.

Lucy on the other hand, blushed with embarrassment. "Y-You two…" she stuttered, trying to calm them down. She had to admit though, she was happy. To know that they wanted to protect her, though it was her job to protect them, it made her feel loved. "Alright now, lets calm down." Lucy laughed, reaching over and patting them both on the heads. Their cheeks burned red with embarrassment.

"So, Natsu-nii brought you to Fairy?" Romeo smiled, leaning forward in his chair.

Lucy nodded. "Yup. My life completely changed since that day."

Grinning, the two boys nodded.

"This is the day our lives change to, right Laxus? We're going on a mission!" Romeo giggled excitedly. Laxus nodded, grinning like a mad man. "I can't wait till we get back though. Then I can tell my dad about what happened. Since he is a wizard I have to continue on the family legacy!" Romeo declared, pointing at himself.

Something at Romeo's words caused Laxus to frown, but he quickly hid it with a nod.

Lucy on the other hand saw the boys change in mood. Having 'technically' knowing him for almost his whole life, it wasn't hard to spot when he was upset. She couldn't help but wonder what is was he frowned about.

"Okay, how about a snack?" Lucy suddenly asked, pulling out some crackers and juice.  
>"Awesome!" The boys cheered in unison.<p>

-Later that night-

Night had come quickly, and little Romeo had eventually drifted off into slumber. Leaving only Lucy and Laxus awake to stare outside the train's windows. The two watched in silence as many cities and mountains passed.

"Excited Laxus?" Lucy smiled knowingly, glancing at her younger companion.

"Sure am." Laxus beamed brightly at her. "Tomorrow couldn't come any slower though."

Chuckling, Lucy nodded. "I understand. You know, the town we've going to, I went there once. With my family." Lucy announced.

Laxus blinked, slowly looking at Lucy.  
>"Well, it was only my dad and me, and we only went because he had a business trip." Lucy chuckled weakly, shrugged.<p>

Laxus was silent, staring down at his palms. After a few moments, he spoke in a soft whisper.

"The only family that I have is grandpa and dad. Dad is gone though, and I don't see Grandpa often. I'm usually alone." Laxus admitted softly, gazing out the window and towards the sky.

Lifting her head, Lucy blinked. "You're lonely?" she whispered softly.

Feeling his cheeks burn red, he nodded vigorously. "I'm always alone. I don't really feel like… grandpa and dad are family when they are gone."

"Laxus, they are always your family. They always will be." Lucy said softly. She understood know why Laxus was upset about what Romeo had declared. He too wished to continue his family legacy, but Laxus didn't feel like he had a family to belong to.

Looking back at her, Laxus saw that Lucy had scooted over, patting the spot next to her. Scrambling off his side of the train chair, Laxus ran to Lucy's side. Jumping up on the bench, he wrapped his arms around her, hiding his face in her shirt.

Placing her hand on his head, Lucy caressed Laxus' hair. "There, there." She said soothingly. "You're not alone Laxus."

"B-But…" he stammered weakly, refusing to reveal his face.  
>"I'm your family too, aren't I?" Lucy asked. Surprised by her question, Laxus lifted his head.<br>"You… are?" he nodded slowly.

"See." Lucy grinned. "All of Fairy Tail is your family Laxus. Natsu, Happy, and Romeo. Romeo loves you like a brother. You don't have to be blood related to be family."

Slowly looking towards the younger boy, Laxus nodded. "So then… you wont ever leave me then, right?"

Bringing the younger boy into a hug, Lucy nodded. "I'll never leave you Laxus. I'm sorry you have felt alone all this time. We are one big family now, and I will always watch over you." She promised softly, kissing his forehead."_You are not alone."_

Grinning at the gestures, Laxus nodded. "Thank you Lucy." He whispered. "I'm glad… you're here with me."

Smiling down at her precious treasure, Lucy closer her eyes, content with the current mood.

_Lesson 2, has been learned._

Gasping, Lucy snapped her eyes open, staring around frantically. Looking down at Laxus, she was relieved to see he was still in her arms, asleep.

It was there again though.

On Laxus' small palm, a small silver shaped 2 glowed on his hand. Blinking at the number, Lucy gawked as it disappeared into the younger boys skin.

"What's…. Going on?" she murmured, holding Laxus close.


	9. Growing up and missions

Lucy sighed, the morning rays hitting her eyes as soon as the sun peaked over the mountains. Slowly opening her blurry eyes, she looked towards the window.

Sun rise.

If she remembered correctly after arriving at the Train station Lucy had to carry Romeo and Laxus (With little difficulty) to a near by hotel.

Once she bought a room she laid the boys down on the bed, then collapsed on the couch.

She never liked sleeping on couches, but she couldn't really do anything about it. Lifting herself up, Lucy looked towards the bed, where she could see two lumps under the covers.

Smiling, she jumped off the couch. "Romeo, Laxus, it's time to get up." She called softly, lifting the covers off of the two boys.

However, there were no longer two little boys under those covers.

Only a 6-year-old boy and 14-year-old boy remained.

Wait, 14?

Lucy let out a small gasp as she stared at Laxus, who had once again changed age. This time the young boy was 14 years old, only a few years younger then Lucy.

"L-Laxus." She stammered softly, leaning towards the boy to get a closer look. He had definitely changed.

She would have to find more fitting cloths again since his cloths were now to small and barely covered his body.

Now that she looked though, Laxus had begun to look more and more like an adult. Small, yet well-built muscles covered his arms and legs.

Lucy felt like crying for a split second as the thought "My little guy is growing up!" crossed her mind.

Sneaking to the other side of the bed, she shook Romeo awake.  
>"Huh?" Romeo murmured, opening his eyes to stare up at her. "What is it Lucy?" he asked, tilting his head.<p>

Pressing her finger to her lips, Lucy silenced him. She pointed over to Laxus without a word. Following her finger, Romeo turned over to stare at Laxus.

"Ah!' he let out a small gasp. "He changed again. Just like before."

"Exactly, so try not to mention anything to him. Who knows what he remembers. For now, just stay calm." Lucy smiled at Romeo, who grinned and nodded.

"Okay Lucy." He giggled.

Ruffling his hair, Lucy helped him get out of bed. "We're heading off soon, so get ready." She ordered.

"Okay!" Romeo cheered, running towards the bathroom.

Now it was time for Laxus.

"Laxus, Laxus." Lucy said softly, grabbing his shoulder to shack him awake. "Time to wake up."

After a few more tries, the lightning mage's eyes popped open. "What?" he gasped. "What's wrong?" Lucy covered her mouth at the sound of his voice, which had begun to get deeper.

"What? No, nothing." Lucy laughed. "It's time to wake up, to finish the mission with Romeo." She said slowly.

After a short pause, Laxus rubbed his chin. "Oh, right." Sitting up, Laxus stretched his arms. His blinked. "Why am I wearing such small cloths?" he frowned.  
>"Uh… who knows." Lucy shrugged. "Lets go get you some new cloths though."<p>

Slowly nodding, Laxus stumbled out of bed. Lucy watched him carefully, trying to see if anything was odd about Laxus. Nothing seemed to be wrong however.

"Hey Laxus… um how do you feel? Do you remember what happened yesterday?" she asked.

Laxus looked at her confused. "I feel fine." He nodded. "Then um… not really. I had a weird dream last night. That weirdo showed up again. He hasn't appeared in my dreams since I was little though. Strange." Laxus let out a carefree yawn.

Lucy sighed, a little disappointed. The same dream as last time though? Was it the masked man again? What did he have to do with this?

Unable to come up with any answers, Lucy smiled at Laxus. "What did the masked man say?"

Frowning, the young lightning mage rubbed the back of his head. "Uh, he said…. 'Lesson two has been learned, Laxus Dreyar.' And then he disappeared." Laxus explained.  
>"I see." Lucy nodded, rubbing her chin in thought.<br>"What's for breakfast though?"

"Apples." She answered, tossing him on.  
>"Aww, that all? I'm starving though!" Laxus whined.<p>

"But you like apples." Lucy giggled.

"That's not enough for me Lu-CY!" Laxus blinked, covering his mouth in shock when his voice suddenly cracked.

Lucy covered her mouth as well, stifling a giggle. "Oh my." She laughed.  
>"D-Don't say a word!" Laxus blushed, covering his mouth again.<p>

"Y-You're growing up. Aww, my little man is finally growing up." Lucy spread out her arms, walking towards Laxus for a hug as she laughed loudly.  
>"Shut up! It's not funny!' Laxus argued, stepping backwards.<p>

"Yes it is." Lucy dove for him.

"It is n-OT! AH!' Laxus gasped when his voice cracked again.

"You did it again! Aww!" Lucy wrapped her arms around Laxus, hugging him tight.  
>"Lucy!' he whined, trying to pull away. "Stop laughing." He blushed.<p>

"But it's so cute." Lucy rubbed her head to his.

Laxus fell silently, pouting at his feet angrily. Lucy smiled at him, ruffling his hair. "It's cute… yet wonderful, right?"

"Wonderful?" Laxus questioned, looking up at her.

"It means you're turning into a man. Maybe one day you'll be taller then me."

Laxus grinned at that. "Then you can't look down on me any more!"

"I don't really have a choice when it comes to that. You're small, so I have to 'look down' at you." Lucy winked, making Laxus frown and fold his arms.  
>"Whatever." He muttered. He grinned instantly though as soon as Lucy pulled away and pulled him towards the table. "So, what was the mission we're going on again?" Laxus asked, rubbing his head in thought.<p>

Lucy frowned, a little sad that he didn't remember anything that happened yesterday. "Escort three civilians over the mountains of Rienst." She explained.  
>"Oh, right." Laxus nodded slowly, still sounding a little dazed, trying his best to remember how they got there in the first place.<p>

"Food!" Romeo cheered, running out of the bathroom and to the table. "Hey Laxus." Romeo said as he passed by them and to his chair.

"Oh… hey Romeo…" Laxus said slowly, staring at Romeo carefully. "I forgot you came with us on this mission." He admitted softly.

"It's okay. I forgot you put on small cloths for pajama's last night." Romeo smirked a bit.  
>Laxus scowled, staring down at his cloths. "I forgot that too. Why did I put on small cloths last night Lucy? They look a little ripped too."<p>

"Um… Can't remember." Lucy laughed nervously with a shrug and she placed some apples on the table.  
>"Apples!" Romeo cheered, grabbing one.<p>

Laxus rubbed the back of his head, slowly reaching out for one. "Strange. You would think I would remember something like putting on smaller cloths for pajamas."

"Yeah." Lucy shrugged, avoiding his eye contact.

After a few more minutes of thinking about it, Laxus shrugged and let it go. "I need new cloths though."

"I'll go get you some now. You boys finish these up before I get back." Lucy smiled, grabbing an apple before she left.

-Later-

Lucy let out another sigh. After running to the nearest cloths store, she was able to find some cloths that could fit Laxus. However, when she got back, she was surprised to see Laxus and Romeo arguing when she got home.

"I am not weak!" Romeo cried, stomping his feet on the ground.  
>"You're only 6, of course you're weak!" Laxus grinned with a laugh.<p>

"Happy is only 6 too!"

"That cat is weak too. His only magic is flying. Just stand back on this mission kid and let Lucy and me do the fighting." Laxus turned back to the apples, taking another one.  
>"I can fight too! I don't need you or Lucy protecting me." Romeo argued.<p>

Lucy slowly sighed. She leaves for 10 minutes and this happens? Laxus' personality was starting to come back too. Or was it?  
>As Lucy stared at Laxus and Romeo, she thought she saw a little brother older brother relationship. Older brother picking on the little brother.<p>

Aww how cute.

"Oh, will you two knock it off." Lucy sighed with a small smile. The two boys blinked in surprised, turning to her in shock.

"Welcome back Lucy." They said together.  
>"I leave for a few minutes and you two are fighting already." Lucy shook her head at the two. "Here ya go Laxus." She passed him the cloths.<p>

With a smile he said, "Thanks Luce."

Lucy blinked. That had been the first time he called her that. "Anytime."

After Laxus changed and everything was ready, the small team of three headed out.

"Okay boys, remember to be nice." Lucy winked at them as the arrived at the meeting spot.  
>"We know Lucy." The two whined. After a small giggle, Lucy looked towards the small group of people they would be escorting.<p>

"Ah, you must be from Fairy Tail." The eldest male of the group, around the age of 58, walked up to shack Lucy's hand.

"Yes that's us." Lucy nodded, making sure the man could see her guild mark. "I am Lucy, these two are apart of my team. Laxus and Romeo."

"My my, what young boys you two are. Especially you little fella." The man gestured to Romeo.  
>"I'm not that young!" he argued angrily.<br>"Now now my boy, I'm not saying that's a bad thing. Why I'm actually jealous of your young age." He sighed, turning back to his group. The man's name was Hugo. His family and him were moving over the mountain to the other city. They had many valuable things in their cart though, and were afraid they might get ambushed on the way.

With Hugo, his wife Marcy, and two grand daughters, Su and Li, Lucy had a total of four people to watch over. With Romeo and Laxus' help, she could do this!  
>"Shall we head off?" Lucy inquired, tilting her head.<br>"That would be best." Marcy nodded, lifting her self up into the carriage. She started the horses off into a small walk, starting the journey.

"First mission, start!" Romeo cheered, running ahead of everyone.

Hugo and Lucy laughed.

**Sorry everyone if this is short. I'm afraid I wont be getting to your reviews today. Something terrible has happened recently.** **In the small town of Aurora Colorado, there was a terrible shooting. **

**A man with a gun early Friday morning stepped into a movie theater that was displaying the new movie Batman. He shot 59 people, 12 of which were killed. This experience has devastated almost all of Colorado and the United States. It is one of the worst shootings the United States has ever seen. Along with the recent fires, which have taken dozens of homes, Colorado is in a tough pinch. **

**Please, I ask that you take a time to hug your love ones, and tell them how much you love them. **


	10. Things are about to get complicated

***Slowly peeks out from the cave that is my room.***

**So um... hey guys. Yeah, first off, let me apologize. I've been a butt this past uh... year? Yeah, yeah its been a year since I updated. *whistles* Whoa, how times flies. I mean, really, I'm honestly shocked myself how long it took me to get this up. 0.0 **

**And I have no excuse to give you other than... I've been a butt and a jerk and a terrible author. I know, I'm terribly sorry. **

**So um, I forced myself to make this chapter long for you guys, and to add some super cute scenes, and some intense scenes, just for you guys. **

**Hope you like it, and just so you know, I've already started working on the next chapter, so hopefully, HOPEFULLY, it wont take me a full year to get the next chapter out. **

**Yeah... **

"Lucy-nee! Tell Laxus-nii to stop!'

"I'm not doing anything!"

"Yes you are!"

"Laxus." Lucy sighed, grabbing the smaller boys ear to yank him back. "Stop teasing Romeo."

Laxus winced when Lucy pulled on his ear, pulling him back to walk beside her.

Since leaving Magnolia, there had been an on going argument between Laxus and Romeo on whether Romeo was strong or not.

"I'm not teasing him, I'm just telling him the truth." Laxus insisted. Rubbing her temple, Lucy shook her head.

"How about we just drop this whole subject. It doesn't matter who is stronger or whatever."

Romeo and Laxus glared at each other, slowly turning their heads away.

Behind her, Hugo, one of the pedestrians she was escorting, chuckled. Glancing at him, she titled her head, confused to what he was chuckling about.

Hugo's wife, Marcy, spoke up, "Excuse me for asking Ms., however you seem to young to be these boy's mother." She mused. "Are you their older sister?"

Dumbfounded Lucy opened her mouth to answer, but nothing came out.

"Yes!" Laxus suddenly answered with a grin. Lucy snapped her attention to him in surprise. He blushed and looked away, sheepishly smiling at the ground.

Romeo laughed, grabbing Lucy's hand and hanging onto it. "Lucy-Nee." He giggled.

Shocked, Lucy smiled softly. "I… In a way. We're not blood related but um-"

"Explain no further." Hugo held up his hand with a kind smile. "A bond is a bond, be it blood related or not."

Smiling at him, she nodded, taking Romeo's hand into her own and swinging it a bit.

"So, if you don't mind me asking, why are you moving?" Lucy inquired to the family of four.

"Papa got a job!" Hugo's twin daughters, Su and Li explained with a grin.

"Ah yes.' The older man nodded. "It pays more which allows me to support my family better."

"However, it is rather strange, moving to a new city and such." Marcy chuckled to herself, pulling a bit on the horse's reins that were connected to the carriage filled with their belongings.

"We've always live in Magnolia since we were but children." She looked at Hugo, who nodded. "To move after all this time… I'm going to miss our old home."

Thinking back to the time she left her own home to join Fairy Tail, Lucy understood the feeling. "It is hard." She agreed.

"Yet… it is exciting as well." Hugo and Marcy took each other's hands, smiling at their daughters.

"Cause adventures are fun!" Romeo turned around to grin at the family.

"Haha, yes, but they can also be very dangerous young one." Hugo pointed out.

Romeo shook his head. "Don't worry. Fairy Tail will protect you! Cause I'm a Fairy Tail mage too!" he pointed to himself proudly.

Lucy chuckled at the sight.

"You're not a Fairy Tail mage yet Romeo." Laxus scoffed

"Neither are you!'

"I am too." Laxus lifted his shirt down a bit to show the Fairy Tail symbol on his chest.

Romeo's eyes widened. "When… did you get that?" he asked confused.

"I've had it since I turned 13 last year." Laxus reminded him, rolling his eyes.

Lucy tilted her head, confused as well. Yesterday he didn't have a Fairy Tail symbol. Then again though, yesterday he was an 11-year-old boy. Did that mean Laxus was able to use his lightning magic? Had he always been able to use it or was he only a lightning mage after he got the Lacrima put inside of him.

Pausing to think it over, Lucy rubbed her chin. No, that wasn't right. Laxus had always been able to use lightning magic… at least she thought so. However, he hadn't been able to use Dragon slaying magic till the Lacrima was put inside of him.

Yeah, that sounded right. So Laxus could use his magic, right?

He didn't have a scar on his eye at this age, however she knew he had it when he was at least 17. So did that mean the Lacrima hadn't been put into him yet? So he was just an ordinary Lightning Mage.

With a huff, she rubbed her temple. This was too confusing to think off all at once.

Looking to Lucy, Romeo pouted a bit, not understanding what was going on. Taking his hand Lucy whispered, "I'll explain later."

Nodding slowly, the young boy kicked the rocks, most likely thinking how unfair it was that Laxus was a mage and he wasn't.

"Don't worry little guy." Marcy assured Romeo, seeing his pout. "Growing takes time. Just live life to fullest and you'll be surprised how fast it is time will pass by."

"Isn't that the truth?" Hugo mused.

"Bleck." Su suddenly made a disgusted face. "Who wants to be a grown up anyway?"

"Grown ups are boring!" Li agreed.

"Now, not all grown up are boring, are they?" Marcy turned to them.

"Grown ups gotta follow the rules and get jobs and do boring stuff." Li explained.

"And they get married!" Su covered her eyes in horror.

"Ew! Cooties!' the two shrieked hiding in the back of the cart.

Lucy laughed. "Not all grown ups are boring." She assured. "Or… follow the rules." She trailed off, thinking of Makarov, Gildarts, Macao, and Wakaba… Laxus even when he was older. Or then there is Yajima from the council… Should she go on?

"Yeah, I don't really… know a lot of adults that follow the rules." Lucy sighed.

Hugo and Marcy both gave her odd looks, not sure what to make of her sentence.

"Well… you are a member of Fairy Tail. They don't… ever follow the rules." Hugo slowly nodded.

"That is very true." Lucy nodded. "It is actually sort of sad how true that is."

The group shared a laugh, basking in the peacefulness of the area.

However, nothing ever seemed to go exactly as planned when Fairy Tail was involved.

_"__**AHHH!"**_

Whirling back towards the cart, Lucy's eyes widened in shock as a few suitcases and pieces of luggage were tossed into the surrounding trees.

"Su! Li!" Marcy screamed in terror at the sight of some sort of monster attacking the back of the cart.

"Lucy? What is going one?!" Laxus gasped.

Yanking out her whip, Lucy bolted for the back of the carriage, pausing at the sight of a large 10-foot shadow that stood before her. It was bulky, sort of like a shadow shaped snowman.

Rushing for the cart, Lucy jumped up to it to see the two screaming girls inside.

"Quickly! Get out!' she held her hands out to the two. They leapt into her arms just in time before the shadowed hand smashed against the cart again. Leaping back, Lucy placed the girls on the ground and stood in front of them protectively.

"Gate of the Bull, I open thee!" Lucy whipped out her golden key. "Taurus!"

A bell sounded in the air as Taurus arrived. "I shall protect Lucy's nice body!' he cheered, pumping his axe in the air.

"Uh. What…" Marcy trailed off behind her, frowning in confusion.

"He's just a pervert, please ignore what he says." Lucy smiled nervously over her shoulder. "Anyway though, Taurus, please, defeat that monster!'

Taurus grinned at her, twirling his axe between his fingers. "If it means I can protect that perfect body, of course!" Taurus charged forward.

"…Right." Lucy sighed.

As Taurus charged forward, Axe swinging expertly in his hands, the shadow monster lifted his head, prepared for the attack.

With a cow like battle cry, Taurus attacked the monster, swinging left and right.

"What is that thing?" Laxus ran to Lucy's side, watching the battle from the sidelines.

"I'm not sure. It has to be some sort of magic though. The mage responsible must be close by." The older celestial mage scanned the surrounding trees for their enemy.

"MOOoO~!" Taurus suddenly wailed when the Shadow monster hit him against the trees, charging at the group.

"Laxus, get back." Lucy commanded, holding an arm out in front of her attack with her whip. With a quick snap, she struck the beast on its' side, hitting at just the right angle to make it slide into the ground. Furious, the shadow monster shook violently, glaring at Lucy with lifeless black eye sockets.

"It's coming back!" Marcy warned.

Lucy struck her whip out again, gasping when the creature caught it in its hands.

"Ah~!" she cried as it yanked on the whip, sending her flying back into the slightly destroyed cart. Hitting it back first, Lucy gagged when the wind was knocked out of her.

"Lucy!" Laxus yelled. Gritting his teeth, he glared at the monster. "You picked the wrong group to mess with." He hissed. The monster made a light chuckling sound, as if it found it funny that it's next opponent would be Laxus.

Angered, Laxus positioned himself in a fighting pose. "You wont be laughing for long."

Ready to strike, Laxus paused when he saw the creature look to the left. Glancing for a few seconds where his enemy was, Laxus' eyes widened to see it was staring at Romeo.

The young boy was frozen in place, trying to bring forth his courage, yet unable to do so.

"Romeo…" Laxus mumbled, snapping his attention to the monster. He could see it in the thing's movement. It had targeted Romeo.

Both stood still for a few seconds, glancing at Romeo from time to time.

"_Don't you dare_." Laxus warned darkly. The monster bent it's knees, Laxus' mimicking it's movement.

They both sprinted for the young boy, knowing it was a game of speed over who would get to him first.

"Romeo! Move!" Laxus barely called out a warning. The boy jumped a bit, dazed from his fear.

The Monster opened its mouth, revealing rows of sharp canines. With a roar it lunged for the young 6 year old.

"Don't touch him!' Laxus screamed

Tackling Romeo out of the way, the 14-year-old lightning mage stumbled a bit, tripping and tumbling down a small hill. The two rolled, landing on the bottom in a pile of limbs.

"Laxus! Romeo!" Laxus could hazily hear the sound of Hugo and Marcy calling to them from on top of the hill. "Lucy! The boys!"

"Owwie." Romeo whined within his arm, sniffing at the cuts and bruises that covered his knees and lower arms.

"Sorry, you okay?' Laxus lifted himself up to examine the smaller boy.

Romeo nodded. Looking back up the hill, he gasped in fright. "The shadowy thing is following us!" he exclaimed, pointing his finger at it. Looking towards the top of the hill, the young Lightning mage narrowed his eyes to see that it was indeed slowly approaching them from the hill. Pulling Romeo to his feet, he dragged him towards the trees.

Pushing the young boy into some bushes Laxus commanded, "Stay down!"

"But-"

"Stay down and don't move. I'll take care of that thing." Rising to his feet, Laxus turned to the monster, small sparks of electricity coming from his fingertips.

Squaring off to his opponent, Laxus charged. Enveloping his hand with lightning, Laxus punched at the creature, shocking it with every hit. Roaring in pain, the creature jumped back, it's arm suddenly out stretching pass normal lengths and back handing Laxus across the grass.

"Laxus-Nii!' he faintly heard Romeo squeak.

Out stretching his hand, a round ball of electricity shot out from Laxus' palm like a bullet. Aiming towards his opponent, he shot many lightning bullets at once.

With quick speed, Laxus wasn't aware the creature possessed, it dodged his attacks, flipping over them and slamming in front of Laxus.

Gasping, he hadn't enough time to dodge when the monster reached forward, wrapping its hands around him.

Laxus screamed when the monster grabbed him around the waist, lifting him up into the air.

"L-Laxus-Nii." Romeo stammered, feeling his body tremble in fear.

Fighting against the darkness, he struggled to pull himself free. Twisting his neck, Laxus yelled, "Romeo, get outta here!"

"B-But-" Romeo stammered.

"Don't argue! Get going! You're too weak to fight this thing!"

Romeo's eyes widened, clenching his teeth and fists. "I am not!" he argued.

"Yes you are!" Laxus sounded almost desperate now. Why couldn't Romeo just get out of here? Why did he insist on staying? He could get hurt! "I'm not having this argument with you! Go! Go now- Gah!" Laxus gagged when the creature squeezed around his torso, making it hard for him to breath.

Rushing forward, Romeo stood before the beast, throwing rocks and whatever else he could at him.

"No! Stop it! You're hurting him!' Romeo demanded.

"T-That wont do anything Romeo! Run!' the lightning mage choked out.

Refusing to move from his spot, Romeo shrieked in terror when the foot of the monster slammed into the ground to his right, barely missing him.

"Romeo!"

Clenching his tiny hands into fist, Romeo narrowed his eyes, small tears threatening to fall from them. "Let… Let go of Laxus-Nii!" he screamed, a small spark of purple flames erupting from his hands.

Hitting the base of the creature, it howled in pain at the intense heat and released Laxus, dropping him to the ground.

Rolling over, Laxus lifted his head in surprise. "Romeo… how…?" he gawked at the young boy. _He thought Romeo couldn't… us magic? Had it just been awakened? "_Romeo! Romeo!" Laxus grinned, rushing forward to pull the dumbfounded kid away from the growling beast. "You… you just used magic!' Laxus laughed.

"I… I did?" Romeo stuttered.

"Yes! You did-Ah!" Laxus jumped when the monster attacked them again, wanting revenge for it's burned foot.

"TAURUS!"  
>Suddenly, a large crack within the ground shot towards the monster, firing rocks and other debris at it, knocking it back.<p>

Leaping forward, Lucy stepped in front of the boys. "I'm so sorry I'm late. Are you two all right?' she asked over her shoulder.

The two boys looked at each other, slowly shrugging, still hyped up over Romeo using magic. "…Yeah." They shrugged with small grins.

Confused, she frowned at them. "You uh… you sure?"

"Yup. Never been better." Laxus nodded.

"Magic is awesome." Romeo chuckled.

Slowly nodding, not sure what to make of the situation, Lucy mumbled, "Uh… okay then." Narrowing her eyes, she turned back to the monster. "Taurus." She extended out her hand.

Taurus nodded, knowing what she wanted. Rushing forward, he once again used Rampage against the grounding, shacking the ground around them, shooting large spikes of rocks at the creature.

It howled in pain as earth impaled against it, hitting it back. When once large piece of rock, or, more of a boulder really, slammed against it skull, it fell back.

Hitting the ground, the creature whined once before it evaporated into the air.

Stunned, Lucy's eyes widened when the shadow's vanished, disappearing without a trace.

_What was that just now? Was it an enemy mage? Perhaps his magic had finally run out? _

She could no longer sense any magic presence near and slowly lowered her whip. Looking at Taurus, he stared at the empty spot where the monster once stood, a dark look on his face.  
>"Taurus… what was that thing?" she asked slowly.<p>

The cow like man looked grim, as if he had just seen a past enemy of some sort. "Dark magic…" he mumbled. "A magic… that shouldn't exist."

"Eh?"

Reaching up to rub the back of his head, the Cow like man titled his head. "Nothing, it is nothing. You're beautiful body shouldn't worry about such things." Taurus' eyes suddenly turned into hearts. "And what a gorgeous body it is!" he cooed.

"Okay yeah, we're done here.' Lucy sighed, whipping out Taurus' key to close his gate. "Thank you though Taurus." She smiled at him.  
>Grinning, he gave her a thumbs up just as he disappeared.<p>

"Lucy-nee!" Romeo cried out behind her. Dropping to her knees, she scooped Romeo into her arms, holding him close. "There, there, it is alright." She said soothingly.

Romeo sobbed into her shirt, clinging to her as if she were a lifeline.

"Lucy! Are you okay?!" Laxus rushed forward, crouching down to her and Romeo.

"I'm fine, are you?" Lucy reached a hand out to cup his cheek. He blushed a bit from the embarrassing gesture, nodding.  
>"I'm not a baby anymore Lucy." He whined, pouting at her.<p>

She chuckled. "Oh you're right. My bad." She winked. After a few seconds, Romeo pulled away, whipping the tears from his eyes using his sleeve.

"Laxus-Nii? You okay?" he looked to his older nakama with worry.

"Yeah." Laxus nodded, reaching out to pat Romeo's head. "…Thanks for saving me, buddy."

"Eh? You saved Laxus?" Lucy looked down at Romeo in surprise.

Blushing in embarrassment, Romeo nodded meekly. "I-I used my magic!"

"EH!?' Lucy gasped. "Wha- when- how?!"

"I dunno! It just… happened!" Romeo laughed.  
>"Can you do it again?"<p>

Pausing, Romeo stared at his hands confused. "Um… I don't think so." Slowly, he grinned widely, nodding. "That is okay though, cause I saved Laxus-nii, cause I'm a Fairy Tail wizard. And you're my Nakama!"

Laxus smirked. "Don't' get cocky now, ya brat." He wrapped his arm around Romeo's head in a head lock, giving him a noggie.

Watching the scene, Lucy smiled, slowly turning back to their group who had slowly slid down the hill. "Are any of you injured?" she asked.

The four shook their heads.

"We are fine." Hugo announced. "We are very lucky to have such strong mages protecting us." He smiled towards Laxus and Romeo, who rubbed the back of their heads sheepishly.

"What was that creature though?" Marcy, Hugo's wife, asked with concern, looking to the spot the creature had been standing before.

"I'm not sure." Lucy narrowed her eyes. "We should keep moving though, in case it decides to return." The group nodded, quickly heading off.

-000-

Not to far away, hidden within the tree, two masked figures watched the group quickly move on.

"Master," one of the two, a female, spoke up, "Was that truly necessary?"

"Do you question me Hikari?" the other asked.

Hikari folded her arms. "Of course not, Master. However, I simply do not understand what it is exactly that we are trying to accomplish."

"We are changing that boy's fate, as I said before." Her Master replied.

"How is attacking them with shadow magic going to accomplish that? I wasn't even aware you were able to use Shadow Magic. " Hikari frowned in confusion.

Rising to his feet, her companion chuckled. "I do not. It was only a small amount of magic that was lended to me. Besides, it teaches Laxus Dreyar a lesson he was never able to learn before."

"…A lesson? You've mentioned that before. How he must learn several lessons. Why is that though? Why are you so interested in changing that boy's fate?"

The masked man said nothing slowly lifting his hand up to remove his mask. With the hood still over his eyes however, Hikari was unable to see his face. Yet, she could see small tuffs of spiky blond hair peaking out.

"I have my reasons Hikari, just as you have yours for aiding me. Or for why you insist on calling me _Master," _he mused.

Hikari looked away, with a huff. "Very well then." She didn't want to continue that conversation any more. "I shall do as you ask, I simply hope you know what you are doing."

"I do, now head off. Deliver the message to Lucy Heartfilia when she returns to her Guild."

"I will… however-" Hikari paused. "Did you really have to attack the boy?"

Hikari's 'Master' shrugged innocently. "I wanted to see how far Laxus would go to protect his nakama… and it was pay back."

"What could you possibly need pay back for from a 6 year old boy?' Hikari huffed.

"…That is a story for another time and era, now just… deliver the letter." He waved her off.  
>"As you wish… <em>Master." <em>With that she disappeared into the next couple of trees, leaving her companion alone.

With a sigh, the man shook his head, stepping back into the shadows to disappear.

-000-

"We can never thank you enough Lucy, Laxus, Romeo." Su and Li said together, grinning widely at them.

"It was no problem at all." Lucy smiled warmly at their four requesters. About two hours after being attacked by that Shadow monster, Lucy and her team of Mini's (She wouldn't tell them that is what she called them) they were able to get over the mountain and safely to the next town.

It was odd. After the first attack, nothing else came after. You would think that if the attacker wanted them gone, they would have tried more than once.

However, no, they had not.

Perhaps that shadow monster was just, as she first thought, a monster of the forest. Perhaps it didn't have anyone it took commands from and simply felt like attacking them for being in its territory.

Lucy wasn't sure. It was over now though, so she should just wait to discuss with Master Makarov about it later.

"Will you guys go back up the mountain?" Li asked, tilting her head.

"Perhaps." Lucy nodded. "I might just head to the next town to the train station. That will cut the journey at least a good 6 hours then if we were to head back the way we came."

"That sounds wise. Who knows what you might run into on the way back." Hugo looked towards the mountain wearily.

Lucy smiled. "I apologize though for your… your cart." She looked towards the slightly demolished thing. Luckily the wheels had still been intake after the attack, but the main structure of it had been completely destroyed.

"It is fine." Marcy assured, smiling down at Su and Li. "All that matters is that we are safe."

The two groups smiled at each other. Shacking each other's hands and saying their good byes, they turned different directions.  
>"Oh, Laxus!' Hugo called to the younger boy before the two groups could get too far apart from each other.<p>

"Hmm?" Laxus paused

"Make sure you watch over that young lady and boy now!" The elderly man called.  
>"Huh?" he looked over his shoulder, confused.<p>

"You're the man of the group, right? That means it's your job to watch over them. Pick them up if they fall." The man smiled, nodding to Laxus.

Laxus blinked, glancing towards Romeo and Lucy. "My… job." He slowly grinned. "Ah! Thanks, old man!" Laxus called, running after Lucy and Romeo.

As they began to walk away, they waved goodbye to the small group of four, who were waving them off as well.

Once they had gone far enough, Lucy let out a whine. "Oh no."

"What?" Laxus and Romeo asked.

Slowly looking at Romeo, Lucy frowned at his scratched up face. "Your father is going to kill me Romeo." She said softly. Romeo, remembering he had fallen a few hours before, felt his face.

"Ah, he is!" he gasped, covering his mouth.

"I'm doomed!" Lucy cried into the air, falling to her knees.

"Don't worry Lucy." Romeo and Laxus said comfortingly, patting her on the back. "We'll protect you!"

Lucy looked at them in surprised. "Eh?"

"We'll always protect you!" the boy grinned.

Suddenly feeling touched; Lucy brought the boys into a hug. "Idiots, that's my line!" she laughed.

-000-

"LUCY!" Macao roared in anger, chasing the younger Celestial mage throughout the guild.

"I'm sorry!' Lucy wailed.

"Dad!" Romeo whined. "It was an accident, I swear! It is Laxus-nii's fault!"

"What- you can't blame me!' Laxus argued.

After returning to Fairy Tail, Macao had become devastated at the sight of his son's cut and slightly bruised face. After a few seconds of fussing, and freaking out about how his mother would react when she saw him, Macao turned to Lucy. A dark aura of death loomed over him as he glared at her, blaming her for the whole occurrence.

Thus leaving us where we are now.

"Do you know what his Mother is going to do to me?!" Macao roared with rage.

"I don't know! Please don't kill me!" Lucy begged, moving to hide behind Natsu. Macao paused, standing in front of Natsu. He moved to the right, yet Lucy moved to the opposite way, still using Natsu to stand in between them.

Natsu blinked, confused to what was going on. "…A fight?" he slowly asked.  
>"Yes. Attack Macao, quick!" Lucy took the chance to escape by shoving Natsu forward.<p>

"ALRIGHT!" Natsu grinned, instantly tackling Macao to ground.  
>"I'll get you for this Lucy!" Macao screamed, just before he got punched in the face.<p>

Lucy smiled nervously, quickly moving to get away from the two and towards the other side of the room. When she was there, she smiled to see Laxus was still waiting for her to head home.

"Ready to go?" she asked.

"Yeah, are you?" he glanced at Macao and Natsu.

"…Yup." She nodded, not willing to look behind her and keeping her head low.

Laxus chuckled. He looked ready to head out the door, when something caught his eye. "Oh um… Wait just a minute, okay Lucy?"

"Okay." She nodded, keeping her eyes to the floor.

"Hey, Romeo." Laxus called.

Turning to face him, Romeo smiled at his older Nakama, "Hmm?"

Shuffling his feet a bit, Laxus averted his gaze to the floor. "I-" he mumbled something.

Romeo frowned, confused. "What?"

Biting his bottom lip, Laxus hesitantly lifted his head. "I'm sorry."

Romeo's large eyes grew wider, stunned. Behind him Wakaba almost dropped his mugs; his mouths gapping open. Even Natsu and Macao froze mid punch.

_Had… Had Laxus just apologized? Thee Laxus Dreyar?!_

"Um…." Romeo shrugged a bit, not sure what to say. "Okay… why? Did you take my ice cream while I wasn't looking?" he asked suspiciously.

"What?" Laxus smirked at him. "No, nothing like that. I just-" he paused, scratching the back of his head. "I'm sorry I called you a weakling before."

Lifting her head, Lucy turned to look at Laxus, amazed.

"It wasn't right, y'know? I mean, yeah you are only six, but that doesn't mean you can't… be… strong." Laxus fumbled over his words, embarrassed that everyone was starting to stare. "Not saying you aren't strong, cause I mean, you are. You just got a different type of strength, ya know?"  
>Romeo shook his head, confused. "Not really."<p>

Laxus huffed a bit. "Like… you are really brave. You got that type of strength that doesn't make your body strong but… gives you a strong will." Laxus stuffed his hands in his pockets; his cheeks growing red when he realized the whole guild had paused from their conversations to listen to him. "So I'm… sorry I made fun of you."

Romeo slowly began to nod in understandement, his grin growing wider. "It is okay Laxus-nii. I forgive you!" he smiled, running forward to hug Laxus around the waist. "I had a lot of fun too! Besides, I gotta save you today too, so we are even."

"You're never going to stop reminding me of that, are ya?"

"Nope."

Laxus blinked wildly down at the younger boy, slowly smiling and hugging him back.

"Whoa, what?" Macao gawked. "You… you did what?"  
>"I saved Laxus-nii! I used magic!" Romeo grinned.<p>

Macao released Natsu, jumping to his feet and rushing to his little boy. "You did?!" he squealed, lifting Romeo up to swing him around. "THAT"S MY BOY!"

The two laughed, cheering wildly. "Yeah, and Laxus-nii didn't believe I was strong at first." Romeo announced.  
>"Really?" Macao smirked at Laxus, as if to brag about his son's awesomeness.<p>

Laxus shrugged with a scowl. "Yeah yeah, soak it up." He grumbled.

Pulling away, Romeo giggled. "My mommy always says, strengths comes in…" he trailed off, looking at the floor to remember his mother's words. "Strength comes in all uh-"

"Shapes." Macao whispered to remind him of the next few words.

"Oh yeah, _strength comes in all shapes and sizes_!"

His body going stiff, Laxus' eyes widened, as if something had shocked him. The guild didn't seem to notice and were all nodding or cheering in agreement to Romeo's words.

All except Lucy, who had seen Laxus' reaction. Moving towards him, she placed a hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright?" she asked softly.

Jumping a bit, it took him a few seconds before his shoulders relaxed at he replied. "Uh…" he looked around, slightly dazed. "Yeah." He nodded casually. "Just got a weird feeling."

"A weird feeling?"

"Yeah, like someone pinched me or something." He looked around wearily. Frowning, Lucy lifted her head to take a good look around.

The guild had already begun to busy themselves with their normal activities, and didn't take much notice to the either of them. There was something odd about the guild though; as if there was something in here that just didn't belong.

Looking to the second level, a place only S Class mages were allowed, Lucy's eyes widened.

A girl stood above, watching them. Her piercing silver eyes were narrowed dangerously at them both, but most preferably, Laxus. Her face, shrouded by a dark hood, only revealed the end of her chin, which was not enough to decipher is Lucy had even met this person before.

Laxus shivered a bit, noticing the girl as well. His body growing rigid, his breathing shallow, he stepped behind Lucy, as if to hide himself.

"Laxus?" Lucy asked in concern, looking back at him.

He shook her head vigorously, unable to make a decent sentence. "….C-Cold…" he stammered.

Reaching back to take his hand, Lucy looked back up at the girl. She stood, unmoving from her spot.

_Who was she? The only S-class mages in this guild were Mystogan, Erza, and Laxus; and Lucy knew that women could never be Erza. She probably wasn't even apart of the guild. _

Yet, no one in the guild seemed to notice her presence besides Laxus and herself. Speaking of Laxus, he held tightly onto the back of her shirt, his body shacking. Ignoring the girl for now, Lucy moved to grab Laxus' shoulders, worried.

"Laxus? What is it? What is wrong?" she whispered softly. Tentatively, she lifted his chin so she could look at him. His eyes were wide with fear and slightly moist from unshed tears.

"L-L…ucy." He stuttered, stepping forward to embrace her. Her expression growing soft with concern, she wrapped her arms around him.

_He was scared. Of what? Could it be-_

She looked back at the women, whose gaze had never left them for even a second.

_Was it that woman? It had to be!_

"What do you want!?" Lucy screamed, feeling rage boil up from her stomach. She couldn't just stand here as this woman did whatever she was doing to Laxus!

Natsu lifted his head at Lucy's comment. "…Uh… nothing?" he titled his head, thinking that Lucy was yelling at him. Erza and Gray looked up as well, frowning at the sight of Laxus clinging to Lucy desperately, his small form shacking.

When Lucy didn't look at Natsu, and kept her gaze locked on something above, he tilted his head up. Seeing the unfamiliar women, Natsu rose to his feet.

"Who are you?" he called up, glaring at her dangerously. His team rose to their feet as well, silent.

"The time is close." The girl at long last spoke up, her voice cutting through the guild's noise easily, stilling the room into silence.

Narrowing his eyes, Makarov spoke up. "State you business here."

Lifting a pale and very skinny finger, she pointed to Laxus. "The boy."

Lucy tightened her grip around Laxus, gently caressing the back of his head. "What do you want with him?"

"I have no interest in him." The women explained, "My Master on the other had, does."

"You're Master?" Erza questioned. "Who is he?"

"That is none of your concern for now." The women said bluntly. "I am simply here to deliver a message."  
>"I see, and who would <em>you<em> be exactly?" Makarov inquired. Though his tone was calm, there was a dark undertone to it.

The women glanced at him. "…Hikari." She answered.

"What is your message Hikari."

Hikari bowed her head a bit, as if she were thinking. Instead of lifting it to continue she explained, "Lesson three has been learned. From this point on, things will begin to get complicated. I am here only to warn you of the upcoming struggle."

"What upcoming struggle?" Gray demanded.

Hikari lifted her head, her silver eyes glowing from the darkness of her head. "A battle will begin within the boy. A battle for his fate, that only he will be able to fight."

"What are you talking about?!" Natsu raged, fire emitting from his hands.

Hikari lifted two of her fingers. "Only two more left. At that time, it shall be the boy's choice for what road he will pick. Teach him well, Lucy Heartfilia. You hold the key to his victory."

"W-What?" Lucy shook her head, unable to understand what she was talking about.

Hikari bowed her head. "I wish you the best of luck." Lifting her hand, a light blue portal appeared behind her.

"Wait!" Natsu yelled, rushing for the second floor.

Looking one last time at Lucy and Laxus, Hikari murmured softly, "I hope you succeed." She leaned back, falling into the portal and disappearing. Just as Natsu jumped to the top of the second floor, the portal disappeared, leaving the room in stunned silence.

"W-What's going on?" Happy looked around, shaken up and confused.

"I don't know." Makarov admitted softly, rubbing his chin. Turning to Laxus and Lucy, he frowned deepened with concern when the two dropped to their knees.

Lucy struggle to sooth the shacking boy, who sniffled and hiccupped as if… as if he were crying.

"Laxus… Laxus talk to me. It is alright… you're alright. I promise." Lucy whispered softly into his ear, running her hand up and down his back soothingly as the younger lightning mage hide his head into her shoulder.

"Cold… cold…" he sobbed. "A-And… and it hurts…"

"What? What hurts?" Lucy glanced at the second floor, knowing Hikari was long gone, but unable to keep looking up there, in case she returned.

Laxus reached up from the embrace, gripping his shirt where his heart was.

"H-Here… I…" Laxus' voice began to trail off, his body going limp.

"Laxus?" Lucy asked, panicked.

"It… hurts... I… Lucy I'm…" his small form fell limp in her arms, his eyes closing. "… I'm… scared…"

"Laxus?" Lucy shrieked when the young lightning mage fell unconscious in her arms. "Master Makarov!"

The guild rushed forward, quickly moving Laxus towards the infirmary.

Lucy had never left his side for a second. However, she swore, through all the chaos in the room, she thought she saw a number on Laxus' hand.

A glowing number 3.

**0.0 hmmmm.**

**poor Laxus. I mean... yeah, it was... it was really hard for me to write the last scene of this chapter. Just because, I adore Laxus, and when ever something bad happens to him, it just... It pulls on my heart strings! **

**And who else here thinks Romeo and Laxus make perfect brothers?! XD They are so cute. And lets cheer for Romeo for awakening his magic. **

**They always say 'One's true strength appears when they are protecting someone they care about' :D **


End file.
